FEAR

It’s a nasty word, isn’t it?  All you have to do is think the word and all sorts of thoughts of past fears, current fears, fearful possibilities for the future come crowding into your mind.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy living in fear.

Some people enjoy being scared, as in a terrifying ride on a roller coaster or going to a scary movie or Knott’s Scary Farm around Halloween. Personally, that’s not my idea of fun, but that’s just me.

That’s not the kind of fear I’m talking about here.  I’m talking about gut wrenching, sick-to-your-stomach, paralyzing fear that keeps you frozen, unable to move forward, unable to experience life to its fullest.

In the last 6 months 6 people I know (some who are dear friends) have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer.  Their lives have been irrevocably changed, their paradyms have shifted and they now face uncertain futures with the shadow of that devastating illness for the rest of their lives.

Our troops who are deployed deal with fear of  injury, death or the injury and death of their buddies every day.  Not one of them can consider themselves truly safe and they have to function in spite of it and do their jobs effectively, working through the fear, in spite of the danger.

Every firefighter or police officer who responds to an emergency has to experience a level of fear.  They, too, face the possibility of injury or death on a consistent basis.

For me–most of my fears center on the future and what this world is going to be when my granddaughters are grown and have to face life in it.  The only thing that offers me comfort and sanity in the face of the craziness and sin around us is my ultimate belief in the goodness and grace of God and knowing that He is always there…never changes…never turns His back.

So, I collected a series of quotes on fear…the first few are general statements about fear, what it is and how it should be faced, and the last quotes deal with God’s presence with us, ending with some verses from the Bible and some Christian teachings.  If you are facing a fear today, I hope some of them speak to you…Nora Beth Puls

To fear is one thing.  To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.  ~Katherine Paterson

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today. William Allen White

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.
Helen Keller

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

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. Dale Carnegie

Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not. Virgil Thomson

You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith. ~Mary Manin Morrissey

Keep your fears to yourself but share your courage with others.  ~Robert Louis Stevenson

There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.  ~George S. Patton

Fear is faith that it won’t work out.  ~Sister Mary Tricky

Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death.  ~Author Unknown

“…with good courage we say, ‘The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6)

Even though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
(Psalms 23:4)

Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives,
give I to you.
Don’t let your heart be troubled,
neither let it be fearful.
(John 14:27)

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh,
even my adversaries and my foes,
they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army should encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear.
Though war should rise against me,
even then I will be confident.
(Psalms 27:1-3)

Are you facing fear today? Perhaps you are afraid of losing your job, of developing cancer or being left by your spouse. At times all of us experience fear. But don’t allow fear to keep you from being used by God. He has kept you thus far; trust Him for the rest of the way. Woodrow Kroll

A wise bird knows that a scarecrow is simply an advertisement. It announces that some very juicy and delicious fruit is to be had for the picking. There are scarecrows in all the best gardens… If I am wise, I too shall treat the scarecrow as though it were an invitation. Every giant in the way which makes me feel like a grasshopper is only a scarecrow beckoning me to God’s richest blessings. Faith is a bird which loves to perch on scarecrows. All our fears are groundless. Anonymous

Some say if only my fears and doubts will leave then I will get to work. But instead you should get to work and then your fears and doubts will leave. Dwight L. Moody

The next time you find yourself alone in a dark alley facing the undeniables of life, don’t cover them with a blanket, or ignore them with a nervous grin. Don’t turn up the TV and pretend they aren’t there. Instead, stand still, whisper his name, and listen. He is nearer than you think. Max Lucado

The blessed Lord condensed it all into one single message of eternal comfort spoken to the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, “It is I, be not afraid.” He is the antidote to fear; He is the remedy for trouble; He is the substance and the sum of deliverance. We should, therefore, rise above fear. Let us keep our eyes fastened upon Him; let us abide continually in Him; let us be content with Him. Let us cling closely to Him and cry, Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea (Psalm 46:2). A. B. Simpson

Beloved, I say, let your fears go, lest they make you fainthearted. Stop inspiring fear in those around you and now take your stand in faith. God has been good and He will continue to manifest His goodness…….Let us approach these days expecting to see the goodness of the Lord manifest. Let us be strong and of good courage, for the Lord will fight for us if we stand in faith. Francis Frangipane

The 23rd Psalm–watch this video