Skip to main content

Fears of the Unknown


There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (I John 4:18)

          Today’s chapter of Simplify by Bill Hybels was about fear. Fear is one of the big enemies. It’s one of the reasons I’m trying to move slowly, but also move quickly, but it’s not the fear itself that’s causing the problem. Or, maybe the better way to put it is that it’s the fear of fear that’s motivating me. Fears can work on so many levels. I am afraid to make mistakes. I know that one shouldn’t make decisions when one is too…too tired, too hungry, too upset, too angry, too afraid…. I also know I’ve gone from one enormous stressor (caring for a family member) to several: death in the family, change of financial circumstances, moving, loss of job, and probably a few others. 
          I also know that I’m given to an extreme. Make a change – even a small change – in my part of my life, and my knee-jerk reaction is panic. Now I have to rebuild my whole life. That’s probably truer this time around than it has been. I’m trying to be very deliberate about it. Very careful. Moving ahead as fast as I can, but trying to give myself lots of time, because for what seems to me to be the first time in my life, it’s really “my” life. 
          All of this causes fear. What if? What if not? Down the middle, between the fears of the unknown and the imagined and the fear of the fears, we have to find a trail to walk. That trail is called courage.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more