Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave, courageous, and never lose hope. Psalm 27:14 (TPT)
Be Brave – Afraid Series – Part 6
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6
Are you afraid of the:
Dark?
Future?
Sickness?
Heartbreak?
Loss?
Failure?
Pain?
Losing?
Are you afraid?
Don’t give up.
I was listening to a Podcast by “The Deconstructionists” (seriously great one, guys), on climate change. They interviewed Climate Scientist Katherine Hayhoe, who is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. In other words: She knows what she’s talking about, and she talks about it brilliantly. With all that's going in the world in regards to climate change, our planet, and the environment, she kept coming back to this one point: We have not been given a spirit of fear.
In the face of significant issues – ones outside of ourselves like climate change, or the more personal intimate ones like heartache and pain – it's tempting to bury our heads in the sand, so great is our fear around not only the issue but the change we have to make to tackle it.
But, we CAN learn how to approach life without fear; how to be brave and courageous even when surrounded by fears. God is with us. And he has not given us a spirit, essence, or heart of fear.
We are one with God: a divine partnership of dust and divinity, the human and the holy. Do not give up in the face of fear.
Take a moment to think about all the things that you worry about and are afraid of. Name them. Do not let them live unnamed and unspoken. The more vague they are, they more they will dance around the edges of your life just out of your reach.
So, call them out.
Name them. Stare them in the face. Be present with your fear. Do not lose control of your emotions, but be led by peace and trust. Transcend and include your fear. Let it teach you what you need to know: Should I buckle up? Should I prepare myself? Should I go a different way? Should I not lean out the window? Are you trying to help me, fear? Or overwhelm me into paralysis?
Fear reveals what you value and treasure. So let it speak to you about those things. Are your values and treasures in danger? Are they found in the wrong things?
Like Elizabeth Gilbert says in her book, “Big Magic” give fear a spot in the back seat of your car as you journey through life. It will teach you things, alert you of danger and reveal what is precious to you. Listen to it. Engage it. Be critical (not negative, but thoughtful) of what it has to offer. But never, under any circumstances, let it drive your life. (Or even pick the theme music).
Richard Rohr said:
“The letter to the Ephesians (5:13) intuits what later psychology would merely unpackage: Anything exposed to the light will itself become light, the author says. That is rather amazing considering that most of us today think in very dualistic terms about good and evil. Here Ephesians says that “dark” things, like fear and shame, can actually be used for our own good and transformation, if we just hold them up to the light. They themselves can become a form of light!”
Afraid? Don’t give up. Hold your fear up to the light, trust that there is more going on here than you can possibly know. May you find peace in the midst of your storm. May you be brave, courageous, and never lose hope, by the grace and love of God.
Keep the conversation going! Email us at talktous@pktfuel.com, or post this little reflection on your social media sites to generate some great conversation and stories around the topic.
Your turn! Leave us your comments below.
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