Fears!

For God has not given us the spirit of fear or timidity, but rather of power, love, and self control. 2 Timothy 1:7

The month of October is flying by, and I never cease to be amazed at all the yard decorations celebrating Halloween. Grown men are climbing poles in order to place skeletons which wll be visible to passers by, ghosts are lurking around, witches are hanging out, pumpkins are prevalent, and huge spider webs seem to be everywhere!

High on my list of “fears” are spiders! I think it has more to do with walking into their webs than the actual spider, but it doesn’t matter because those huge webs are everywhere! While seeing them is my biggest fear, the fear of those I am with is seeing me, seeing a spider!

Fear is the unpleasant feeling one gets when we think we are in danger or that something bad might happen. It is an emotion that serves as a warning to protect one from a real or imagined threat by triggering a “fight or flight” response.

Evidently,spiders do that for me especially since the orb weaver spiders are reaching maturity at this time of year, building huge webs, and searching for mates. It is said that they are harmless, not aggressive, and they will only bite when they feel threatened which is why my fear drives me to stay away!!

Famous people throughout history have dealt with fears and phobias. Napoleon suffered from an irrational fear of cats (ailurophobia), Queen Elizabeth feared flowers especially roses (anthophobia), Howard Hughes was practically incapacitated by his fear of germs (mysophobia), and Harry Houdini dealt with his fear of claustrophobia of all things!!

There are several things that might cause fear. Specific objects (like spiders, heights, snakes, flying, etc), future events, imagined events, real environmental dangers, and fear of the unknown.

The trouble is many of us deal with some kind of fear, but we don’t consider it a major problem. I can avoid spiders,but it’s not as easy to deal with the everyday fears that are facing us in our neighborhoods, our country, our world, and many times our own personal lives.

The spiritual root of fear usually comes from our separation from God and the lack of faith we put in him to deal with it. There are many kinds of fear, but three of them come to mind today. First, the fear of failure is the most common of all because it keeps us from fulfilling our visions, hopes, and dreams. We need to realize that, not only, are our mistakes survivable, they are teaching tools which sharpen us and make us a better person.

Next, there is the fear of never being good enough. It is hard not to compare ourselves to others, but it’s not about being as good as others; it’s about being ourselves. We are all born with God given gifts to use for a purpose, and that purpose may be unlike anything we have ever known!

Finally, there is the fear of not being accepted. This may be one of the greatest sources of loneliness in our world today. There are so many among us who go home to an empty house, eat dinner alone, watch television, and then go to bed still alone. Even in a crowd, one can feel alone. The key to being accepted is to reach out to others and allow them to enter into your private world.

Sometimes we focus too much on our fears and too little on God’s power to help us deal with them. If we acknowledge them, it’s like flipping on a switch in a dark room, suddenly, we can see the mess and start decluttering.

Fear often stems from believeing lies such as, “I’m not good enough or this situation is hopeless” when Jesus says, “Do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.” God wants us to stay connected to Him and to others.

In the midst of fear, the right thing to do is simply to trust God, and while we trust, He can work!