Journey into Lightl

Do you face your fears?

Or, like many of us, do you run from them by ignoring, denying, pretending or distracting yourself?

In the short run, it makes a lot of sense to avoid the pain of feeling our fears. Who likes pain? However, by doing this, we fail to experience  and understand the deeper things we are afraid of. This keeps us from resolving them and from realizing that many of our fears are driven by lies and false dependencies.

For example, recently I faced considerable anxiety about the results of a CT Scan. I examined my thoughts behind the fears, which included, I’m going to require surgery and that’s bad. The scan will discover other things wrong. Surgery is dangerous and painful.

As I examined these thoughts, I discovered that several of them were false or exaggerated. I then calmly told myself the truth as I understood it about each thought, and my anxiety was reduced.  I eventually decided to face minor surgery. If I had refused to face my fears, I may have not chosen surgery which could save my life in the long run. I would have probably listened to my anxiety, which were driven by mostly lies, and avoided surgery.

So, how do we find the courage to face our fears?

First, we need to be aware of our fears and why we have them. We may find that our reasons we are afraid just aren’t true. For example, we may be asked to be interviewed about our thoughts on a new program at work. Immediately we may think, What happens if I say the wrong thing? What happens if I make a fool out of myself? What are people going to think of me?

Then, we can access the more mature thinking we have and challenge some of our alarming thoughts. So what if I say the wrong thing? If it’s what I believe, it has merit. Someone thought I would say something worth listening to or they wouldn’t have asked me. So what if I make a fool out of myself? And how often does that happen anyway? I know who I am and it’s not who I think people think I am. And it’s not that important what people think of me anyway, but what I think of me. This rational thinking can reduce our worry.

Normally, I put my trust in doctors to guide me wisely on medical matters. But they are just human and we all know what that means – they can make mistakes. And that’s scary! So, I have learned to face the fears of medical issues by trusting the God who is the Doctor of Doctors to guide the advice they give me. God doesn’t make mistakes, but works all his advice to accomplish his good. And that makes me feel less scared.

Because of the way I’m made and was raised I carry a lot of fear inside. I am prone to imagine the worst-case scenarios for almost every uncertain situation I face. So, I have had to confront many worries just to get through life, even though most are imagined or exaggerated. This has developed my courage by having to stand my ground with fear, instead of running away.

Joshua was given the frightening assignment to lead Israel to conquer the Promised Land in the face of overwhelming odds against them. God and the people of Israel exhorted Joshua to be strong and courageous despite being terrified. So, Joshua led with great courage and effectiveness because he didn’t let his fears keep him from doing God’s challenging will.

But it’s easier to repress, deny, ignore, suppress, and pretend about our fears rather than to accept and seek to resolve the problems behind them. We can be lazy and choose safety over transformation – and our growth as a person is stunted.

May we choose to face our worries and not hide from them. May God give us the courage to be controlled by the will of God and not our fears. ”So, be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!” (Psalm 31:24) and let us face our fears.