Fear. We all deal with it no matter how dauntless we may claim to be. Fears do not have to be big or universally intimidating. There's little fears like the fear of sleeping through an alarm clock, and then there are big fears or phobias like the fear of spiders, heights, clowns, etc. But the incredible thing is that we were not born with any of these fears. As newborns, we have two inherent fears and that is the fear of loud noises and of falling. So where did all these thousands of fears come from? Our culture essentially encourages fear, plants seeds of dread, and nurtures them into serious anxiety or fear. Our culture encourages fear through things like going to haunted corn mazes and watching scary movies. Every time we partake in these activities, we are teaching ourselves new fears. So, if we say we hate being scared, why do we keep training ourselves to be scared?
This past summer, my friends and I got in the habit of watching a scary movie after every hang out. We thought that it was all fun and exciting to get scared and scream at the screen, but I began to realize that after watching these movies, I would have just an inkling of irrational fear that a man with a chainsaw was going to jump out of the bushes while I walked back to my car or that I was going to walk into a room and there'd be a creepy doll sitting there just waiting for me. I know that last one sounds stupid, which it is, but thats the seed that "The Conjuring" planted in my mind. In my honest opinion, that is one of the better horror films I've seen just because it actually had a plot and good actors and wasn't just blood, gore, and terror. But, still plants bad seeds, so it's not my first movie recommendation.
Anyways, since we're so full of irrational fears that cause an almost constant feeling of dread, where are we supposed to find any sense of comfort? The world cannot offer any sense of comfort from all these fears and anxieties. This is what gives us a perfect sense of comfort:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
~2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Every time I read this verse, I just picture a little child, frightened to tears by something that the adult world thinks is silly. But in that fear, the child runs to her daddy's arms and he just sweeps her up into his arms and holds her until she's not afraid anymore. That verse has been brought to my attention twice since I've gotten to Linkyear as I've dealt with some things and struggled with some stuff. But when I've thought about it, God sees our fears, the same way that adults may see the little child's fears. They're silly and irrational to him, but he'll still sweep us up into his arms, comfort us with compassion, and conquer our fear. How awesome is that?! All we have to do is run to him, trust him, and let him hold us, comfort us, and protect us.
So, let's put this into perspective. I think a lot of times when we think about God, we just think about Jesus, because he was tangible and was a man. In saying that, I think we forget about God the father, who is so enormous, infinite, all-knowing, and loving, that we honestly cannot even comprehend it. But this means that he is bigger than our fears, even the biggest ones. Fear of a broken heart? He's bigger than that. Fear of failure? That's minuscule next to him. Even fear of spiders? He created the spiders, so he's obviously bigger than them, so just chill with the yelling. So, every time an anxious thought tries to creep up on you or you feel scared, though it may feel like the biggest thing in the world to you, God's bigger than this, so just run to him, and just let him hold you.
This past summer, my friends and I got in the habit of watching a scary movie after every hang out. We thought that it was all fun and exciting to get scared and scream at the screen, but I began to realize that after watching these movies, I would have just an inkling of irrational fear that a man with a chainsaw was going to jump out of the bushes while I walked back to my car or that I was going to walk into a room and there'd be a creepy doll sitting there just waiting for me. I know that last one sounds stupid, which it is, but thats the seed that "The Conjuring" planted in my mind. In my honest opinion, that is one of the better horror films I've seen just because it actually had a plot and good actors and wasn't just blood, gore, and terror. But, still plants bad seeds, so it's not my first movie recommendation.
Anyways, since we're so full of irrational fears that cause an almost constant feeling of dread, where are we supposed to find any sense of comfort? The world cannot offer any sense of comfort from all these fears and anxieties. This is what gives us a perfect sense of comfort:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
~2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Every time I read this verse, I just picture a little child, frightened to tears by something that the adult world thinks is silly. But in that fear, the child runs to her daddy's arms and he just sweeps her up into his arms and holds her until she's not afraid anymore. That verse has been brought to my attention twice since I've gotten to Linkyear as I've dealt with some things and struggled with some stuff. But when I've thought about it, God sees our fears, the same way that adults may see the little child's fears. They're silly and irrational to him, but he'll still sweep us up into his arms, comfort us with compassion, and conquer our fear. How awesome is that?! All we have to do is run to him, trust him, and let him hold us, comfort us, and protect us.
So, let's put this into perspective. I think a lot of times when we think about God, we just think about Jesus, because he was tangible and was a man. In saying that, I think we forget about God the father, who is so enormous, infinite, all-knowing, and loving, that we honestly cannot even comprehend it. But this means that he is bigger than our fears, even the biggest ones. Fear of a broken heart? He's bigger than that. Fear of failure? That's minuscule next to him. Even fear of spiders? He created the spiders, so he's obviously bigger than them, so just chill with the yelling. So, every time an anxious thought tries to creep up on you or you feel scared, though it may feel like the biggest thing in the world to you, God's bigger than this, so just run to him, and just let him hold you.