Look Fear In The Face

29 Oct

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

We do not live in a perfect world.  That ship sailed a long time ago when original sin entered the world.  Since that time, we became mortal and corruptible and had to face the world and all its dangers.  Many of them are quite gruesome and frightening.  If the frights of the world are not enough for us, we also engage in the frights of the spiritual world as we do battle with the devil.  The devil has many ways to introduce fear into our lives, often leading us to sin.

The moment we cave to fear, we lose the battle.  If we allow fear to lead us, we will inevitably go down paths that God wants us to avoid.  We cannot allow fear to affect our lives.  We need to face down our fears, shrug on the armor of courage, and meet fear head to head.  It might be a bloody conflict; but, with God’s help, we can be victorious.

Remember, please, always remember, we have the help of God any time that we ask for it.  There are times in our lives we appear to forget that.  Instead, we cower in fear and refuse to do what needs to be done.  With the grace of God, we can conquer any of our fears.  All we need to do is ask for God’s assistance.

If we run from our fears, we will do little to help others who share our same fears.  We need to model courage not cowardice.  We need to model faith not faithlessness.  If we show others that we are willing to face our fears and if we let others know that we gain the courage to face our fears by asking for God’s assistance, we truly become witnesses of Christ in our world.

Is our world an ugly place in which to live?  Yes.  But, we can make a difference.  We can show people that there is help available and that they do not have to cower in fear.  They can find the wherewithal to face fear and, in the process, overcome fear.

FAITH ACTION:  If something frightens you today, ask God to give you the courage to overcome your fear.