Tag Archives: Fear

November 30, 2020 · 3:41 pm

Thou Shall Not Be Afraid

Monday Week 1 November 30

Banner Week One.jpg He shall judge between many peoples,

and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;

they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,

and their spears into pruning-hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore;

but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,

and no one shall make them afraid;

for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

~~~Micah 4:3-4

Week 1 Quote 1.jpg

Question – What fears do I need to relinquish today?

Prayer Thought

Lord, Help me to seek God’s peace and find a path to a life without fear.

Amen

Sometimes fear is a very helpful thing that keeps us from harm, but many times it’s an inner voice and barrier that keeps us stuck. Fear is an emotion that keeps us from getting what we want and becoming who we honestly, deep down want to be.

We live with fear whether it is from a pandemic virus or just having to carry out the normal functions of life. We all have fears. Some of our fears are quite easily proven, while others are rather absurd. The sad thing is that whether they are real or imagined they still affect us in great ways. Our computers and bookshelves are lined with resources to overcome fear. Despite all our efforts, fear lives on.

Learning to handle fear and overcome it is the ultimate goal of every one of God’s creatures. People have climbed mountains, jumped out of airplanes, and sailed solo across oceans in an attempt to conquer fear. The quotes and scriptures are just small tools to perhaps allow you to think about what role fear plays in your life and how you might minimize its effect.

On the other hand, fear is a necessary part of who we are, and we can know that, “Fear makes us feel our humanity.” Those are the words of Benjamin Disraeli a 19^th century British Prime Minister. Fear is both friend and foe, and we must learn to make peace with the fear that lies within each of us.

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.

― Marie Curie

Without fear there cannot be courage.

― Christopher Paolini

First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

― Franklin D. Roosevelt

He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.

― Aristotle

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.

― Joseph Campbell

It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.

― Marcus Aurelius

Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ignorance is the parent of fear.

― Herman Melville

He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.

― Shannon L. Alder

Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.

–Babe Ruth

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

— Bertrand Russell

Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.

— Karl Augustus Menninger

Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem to be more afraid of life than death.

— James F. Byrnes

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

Cast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

~~~Psalm 27

For I, the Lord your God,

hold your right hand;

it is I who say to you, ‘Do not fear,

I will help you.’

~~~Isaiah 41:13

The fear of others lays a snare,

but one who trusts in the Lord is secure.

~~~Proverbs 29:25

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~~~Romans 8:38-39

But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’

~~~Mark 5:36

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

~~~Revelation 1:17

‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

~~~Matthew 6:34

When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

~~~Psalm 94:19

I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’

~~~Joshua 1:9

LORD, fear has cheated me of more of your blessings than any other emotion. Fear has robbed me of the joy, peace, abundance and so many other things that you desire for me to possess. Let me this day use the grace that you have bestowed upon to move beyond my fear into your world of blessings. Let me put aside the defeat that fear wishes me to possess and move to the victory that you have given me by your love.

Amen

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Filed under Monday Musings

Tagged as Christian Living, Fear, Quotes

August 9, 2017 · 7:46 am

The Everywhere God

There is a character in the classic work Don Quixote named Pancho Sanchez. Pancho Sanchez hangs in fear from the ledge of a window all night long, too frightened to let go. When morning dawns he discovers his toes are only an inch off the ground. Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and he wanted to join Him. Matthew’s gospel tells us, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ Jesus said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ It’s amusing to think of Simon Peter climbing out of the boat trying to imitate his Lord by walking on the water. Then, like a cartoon character, he makes the mistake of looking around. “What in the world am I doing?” he asked himself and suddenly he begins to sink.

Abba Doulas, the disciple of Abba Bessarion said, ‘One day when we were walking beside the sea I was thirsty and I said to Abba Bessarion, “Father, I am very thirsty.” He said a prayer and said to me, “Drink some of the sea water.” The water proved sweet when I drank some. I even poured some into a leather bottle for fear of being thirsty later on. Seeing this, the old man asked me why I was taking some. I said to him, “Forgive me, it is for fear of being thirsty later on.” Then the old man said, “God is here, God is everywhere.” ‘

—-Coptic sayings of the desert

Pancho Sanchez, Peter and Abba Doulas have something in common, – their fear ruled them. The character Pancho feared the unknown ever though he was quite safe. Life works that way. We have countless numerous fears that are unnecessary. These fears cause us to hold on and suffer in our ignorance.

Franklin Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” That was the type of fear that Pancho was facing. He was holding so tightly to fight a danger that wasn’t real. When the sun came up, the light of the morning assured Pancho that there was really nothing to fear. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the light…” We could be saved from untold number of fears if we would allow the light of Jesus to illumine our lives.

Peter had been a follower of Jesus from the very beginning. His enthusiasm and sometimes stupidity was legend. There was absolutely nothing that Peter wouldn’t try. This story finds him confronted by the scary sight of seeing Jesus walking on the water like a ghost. Naturally, Peter being Peter, wanted to join Jesus. After a few steps into the water, the reality of fear came crushing down and he sank. That is the way it is for most of us. We get really excited about our faith and being brought to earthly reality causes doubt to begin its rule. We sink from the excitement that could only come from heaven and fall into the despair of the earth. We are overcome by fear but we have an out. When Peter said to Jesus, “Help me” Jesus did so quickly and brought him to safety. The message is, we can’t walk on water but we can count on Jesus to carry us to high ground.

The desert story tells us of a young Monk of the desert who went to his mentor with a difficult situation. He was walking in the desert sand on the seashore and became overwhelmed by his thirst. This land is arid and hot and a drink of water is a lifesaving event. Hapless and helpless he asked his master for some help and he was told to drink sea water. Anyone who lives near the ocean knows that drinking sea water will not quench your thirst but lead to your death. The faithful monk drank the water and miraculously it was sweet. It was a miracle! The young monk being fearful of becoming thirsty tried to store the miracle by collecting more water. His fear was that God would not continue to deliver him in the future, so he decided to make plans to deliver himself. God is always with us and we should never try to bottle a miracle out of fear.

The key to overcoming our fear is to have faith in the everywhere God.

Prayer

Lord help me to be aware of your presence and your promise to provide for me. Allow me the strength to turn to you in my time of need. Allow me the humility to be dependent on You from day to day and not try to build up reserves for myself. Your blessings are sufficient for today, and tomorrow’s blessings will be sufficient for tomorrow. May my life be lived in this day by day faith.

Amen.