I don't typically struggle with fear. Every now and again it rears its ugly head in my life, though, in a full-on effort to rob my joy of today.
Ironically, it is usually when things are going very well--too well my fearful heart whispers. You know it can't always be this great. Life's been too smooth for too long. It doesn't work this way. Something major is going to happen any day now. Brace yourself.
My Southern friends have an idiom for this: waiting for the other shoe to drop. It is the inability to fully enjoy the blessings of today because you are distracted by the fear that there is more to come. This becomes a downward spiral in my thought life to worst case scenarios and frightening visions of what life will look like in the fictitious then.
It is painful to realize that the things I most fear losing are the things that I am perhaps clutching too tightly. There is nothing wrong with financial security, a life-giving marriage, sweet friendships, enjoying the blessing of children. But, there is a problem when the fear of losing any of these things causes me to clutch them so tightly that I leave no room for trust in the Lord. He is, afterall, the very Creator and Giver of these blessings in the first place.
It's a bit like when I buy my children an ice cream cone and they refuse to let me have a lick. I bought it for them. Don't they trust that I want them to enjoy it? Can't they spare a bite to the very one who had the idea and made the provision for it in the first place?
As I have been praying/pondering over this in the last few days I realized that fear issues are, in fact, TRUST issues. So, today I am praying that instead of tuning my ears in anticipation of the sound of the other shoe dropping, I will choose to tune them to the voice of my Father.
Where the Enemy taunts me with doubts about my future and the way God works, my Creator says, "I love you. I won't leave you. I have a plan. I got this. Trust me."
10 comments:
Oh, JenMom, this is absolutely perfect. Thank you.
Perfect for me, too. Thanks.
Love it!! I especially love your quote about not clutching the good things so tightly that we don't leave room for trust in the Lord. There is so much truth to that. Thanks for sharing your heart. I am always encouraged and challenged by your posts.
J, My 13 years of marriage and 8 years of motherhood have been super easy and smooth. I often cling to fear that "the bomb will drop at any moment". I read this article last week and it brought great encouragement to me....hope it does for you, too. http://theresurgence.com/2012/06/01/10-ways-fear-robs-me
Well said. Beth Moore had a great lesson on fear in her Esther series-really opened my eyes. Any time I hold a specific fear in my heart/mind, I am giving the Enemy a super easy way to paralyze me. He will hold that fear over me every chance he gets. I still battle fear, but God is showing me that He can carry me through anything. Even if my worst fear came true, He would still be sovereign and good. It's a daily process, and I so appreciate seeing this encouraging word from you today. God bless!
I needed this so much today. Thanks!
This is such a timely post for me. I've had fears that have caused physical anxiety. It can be terrible and I really needed this reminder. Thank you.
This post is soo perfect for me, thank you for reminding me to stop worrying and trust the Lord completely.
I really needed to hear this, thank you so much.
I love this post, it is so true and something that I've thought about quite often. Have a wonderful weekend!!
Ashley
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