Friday, November 25, 2022

November 25, 2022

What are you afraid of?

Spiders. Heights. Public speaking. Failure. Rejection. Losing a loved one. We each have something we fear. In fact, a lot of us probably have many things we’re afraid of. For some of us, our fears can paralyze us and hold us back from the best life God has for us.

When fear shows up in our life, most of us will respond in one of a few ways: 

Running: We try to get as far away from the situation or thing inducing fear. For example, if you see a spider in your house, your first move is to run away. (Your second move: sell the house; it’s not worth it anymore.)

Freezing: We get stuck, we feel paralyzed, and we become indecisive. For example, if you are afraid of failure, you may become indecisive when faced with big, important decisions at work.

Fighting: We combat our fears by lashing out, being defensive, or in some cases, offensive. For example, if you see a political Facebook post that makes you worried about the direction of the country, you might quickly respond in ALL CAPS to show your anger.

Numbing: We turn to something or someone to comfort, distract, or entertain us, in order to drown out the pain of our fears. For example, if you’re like me, you might turn on an episode of The Office so you can laugh and, in the process, completely ignore your fear.

None of these responses to fear will ultimately end up being the most helpful for your growth. 

Here’s an alternative: Face your fears courageously.

See, courage isn’t about not being scared. It's about moving forward in the midst of fear. Courage is facing your fear instead of numbing it, fighting it, freezing it, or running from it. 

Thankfully, we don’t have to face our fears alone. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

When we have God’s Spirit inside us, we have everything we need to face our fears, because, after all, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you” (Romans 8:11a). With God’s Spirit, we can face our fear by trusting in his power, not our own. We can step into whatever we need to in the midst of that fear, and trust that he will guide and protect us.

As we courageously face our fears, they begin to lose their power. Most of our fears don’t end up happening, and the ones that do, almost never end up being as bad as we thought.

Questions: 

What are you afraid of?

What fear has been holding you back recently?

When you are afraid, are you more likely to run, freeze, fight, or numb?

How can you face your current fears today? 

Next Steps: 

Talk to someone you trust about your current fears.

Talk to God about your current fears.

With the help of someone you trust and the Holy Spirit, come up with a game plan for how you will courageously face your fear.

Prayer:

God, thank you for not giving me a spirit of fear but, instead, giving me your Holy Spirit, which is the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Help me to rely on your power to face my fears. Amen.