Monday, July 25, 2011

No Fear

"And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?"
"You Never Let Go" ~ Matt Redman

We finished our STOP series at church yesterday. The topic was "STOP Fearing".   I don't think most people would describe me as a fearful person...because in most areas I'm not.  I do hope I have a healthy fear of the Lord because the Bible commands us to....

"Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments." Psalm 112:1 KJV 

...but when it comes to things like fear of what might happen with the economy, fear of problems in relationships, fear for my physical well-being, fear of trying new things, etc, etc.....I believe that the Lord is in control of all.  He has the best in store for me.  I know this because I've been in fearful situations and He's brought me though every single one of them.
 
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 KJV

I trust Him...I truly do. I want to be obedient to Him.  No Fear! That's me.


Except for one area of life...and it's a big one. It encompasses a lot of people.  I thought that maybe if I "put it out there" so to speak it would be good for me.

It's what my pastor called an irrational fear.  It involves my children and my grandchildren.  It involves them being out of my sight....so they are obviously out of my control. Away from my protection.  It's crazy.  I worry that something will happen to them.  I know...parents and grandparents do that...we worry.  But I (too many times) take it to the extreme.  It's like I've decided I can trust God with everything in my life except for them.  I forget that He's in control of their lives and they are under His protection.  Maybe I have this irrational fear because some of my deepest fears have been realized in the past.  But He's brought me through that too.  I guess I just don't want to go through any of it again....so I worry and I fret.

Sometimes I focus on these worries for so long that my physical health is impacted...stress can do a lot to a body.  I don't want it to be this way and I pray about it frequently!  So, like I said, I'm just "putting it out there". This blog is mostly about keeping track of things, documenting memories and sharing family fun with extended family and friends.  But it's also kind of an accountability partner for me.  People are going to read this and if anyone were ever to ask how I'm doing in this particular area of my life, I'd want to be able to tell them that I've had victory in overcoming my irrational fears!  Plus I thought that maybe some of you might remember me and my irrational fears in your prayers.  : )

God has not given me a spirit of timidity (fear) but of power and love and discipline (sound judgement).
II Timothy 1:7 BCF Self Confrontation Manual

4 comments:

Simply Shelley said...

I understand completely...I will be praying for you...its so hard to not worry about our precious loved ones...my youngest son(19) just left home a few days ago to live nine hours away....I had to do much praying that night...or I would have felt tormented for fearing for his safety and what he may entangle himself into....God gave me peace and for that I am thankful...he is sure to keep the angels busy watching after him though....He can be a wild one at times :) I told him...He better be good if not...he would be a man most miserable...I asked the Holy Spirit to pour on the conviction :) Blessings on your week dear friend...

Susan Holt Simpson said...

Loved reading this! Thank you for putting your spiritual growth out there for us to learn from,

s

annie said...

You are not alone, fear feeds in darkness and isolation. Come into the light, and be made whole. I so often need to remind myself of this. Trust in our Savior, He alone has the power and authority to conquer the beast of fear. In Him, all things are possible to him (and her) who believes. All, not just some but all. You don't have to live under fear's dominion any longer. You belong to Christ, rest in Him.

Ann said...

Just 5 little words. "Let go and let God"
Whenever I was obsession over a worry, I would repeat those words over and over to myself. It sure worked for me.
Your faith will see you through Marie :)