Faith not fear


Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me danger is very real but fear is a choice. (from the movie "After Earth")

Whilst the source of this quote is not worth watching, the quote is, however, one worth quoting. Why?  How many people fear things that they think "might happen" but never happens and when it does, its not as they expected.  Fear is like worry; it gets us no-where and eats away at us. 

Mothers are the worst for this. Mothers fear so much and on most occasions very little happens. We fear that our children will fall off their bike - yes, they will and they could graze their knee or even break an arm. But, the child has learnt a valuable lesson in life and will recover. We all trip and fall - but we can't live in fear of tripping and falling. 

However, as the quote points out - danger is real. Don't leave your child near a swimming pool unattended - they can drown; don't let your child play near a busy road - a car might hit them; keep poisons out of their reach - they may become very ill. These aren't fears - these are facts. Its important to be CAREFUL and keep our children safe, but that is very different to living in FEAR of what might happen.

We can all can catch the flu, common cold, getting dirty and exposed to germs (in fact we all need to be exposed to these things as it builds our immune system) but as long as we have made sensible precautions then, there is nothing to fear. Letting you child play in a park with other children is safe as long as you have been careful. They might fall or trip, but don't we all. 

But what is important is that mothers do not spend their child's entire life living in fear of "what might happen" as it will paralyses them and their children.  Fear traps and consumes you, it weighs you down until you are unable to function - it is unhealthy. 

I can remember being fearful of my son learning to drive. I made sure he had a very good instructor and a safe car - he was fine. I worried about my sons visiting school friends - I went and visited their parents to determine if it was a wise decision. If it was, then I allowed them to visit.  

I have to live by FAITH not FEAR.

I had to have COURAGE and not be AFRIAD.

Just remember, your children grow up and leave home and they need to have been taught survival skills - how to get up after falling over. We cannot wrap our children in cotton wool   and lock them away at home - you are doing them a disservice.  They will not function in society if you do this. Your fear becomes their fear and it perpetuates. 

How do they learn faith, if you are lacking it?

I speak from experience  - I know what it is like to live in fear of "what might happen" and I learnt not that long ago that no matter how fearful I am - things do happen. And after that one event that I was most fearful of happened - happened, I realised my fear made no differences to the outcome. I had to TRUST in the Lord for all things, it was my only choice. I have since and every time FEAR comes knocking (Satan) I send him away very swiftly as it paralyses me, raises my blood pressure, makes me panic and I become physically ill.  Instead I call out to the Lord for HIS care and protection and I have put FEAR where it belongs and I am no longer afraid. 


Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid


John 14:27

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Comments

  1. Wow! This is what I am struggling with right now. I try not to fear so much, I know that God has a plan and I know we cannot see or control the future but I worry. I end up in tears worrying about the 'what ifs', trying to soothe my soul I pray to God. I don't ask him that nothing happens to my children, I ask him to let me see them grow up safe and happy. Let me see them become men and know that the world waiting for them is theirs for the taking. I know how fragile life is and sadly I am very aware how quickly it can be taken, I do not fear dying but I fear leaving my children when they are children. I think that is something that will never go away. You are right though, we have to embrace and not fear and after reading this I think I will try a little harder and let faith guide me x

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    1. Hi Emma,

      Learning to trust in the Lord is like stepping out in the dark and trusting that someone will guide you without you tripping over. In time though I have learnt that the Lord has never let me down and whenever I need Him, He is there. it takes time and lots of pray and I am the first to admit how hard it can be.

      We always need to remember that our journey on this earth was never meant to be easy. If it was we wouldn't need the Lord. So there is always little bumps and storms that test us and through each one we become stronger and stronger in our faith.

      I don't want anything to happen to my children, but something almost did, however the Lord was there and got me through and I am much stronger and my son is much stronger.

      When times are really hard I have a set of bible verses that I remind myself of - such as "I will never leave you nor Forsake you" (Heb 13:5) Perhaps I should do a post of some of the verses I couldn't live without as they are the words that give me strength.

      Blessings for the week ahead.

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  2. good post, I am not a mother but I still do this-get my self worked up and afraid of the unknown-like now with the possibility of an ice storm here-I work at being prepared-and ready instead.

    thanks for visiting my pages-enjoy that warmer weather

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  3. Personally I think you have muddled up fear and worry. If as you say "Mothers fear so much..." we, as mothers, would be living wrecks unable to focus on any task at hand because of the fear we harbour. Good definitions for worry and fear may be "worry is the thought process that creates the feelings and emotions experienced as anxiety. Fear comes after anxiety. Fear is associated with more precise danger and starts to engage other survival tactics, like the fight or flight response, and is only intended for short term survival not long term existence, since the physical symptoms associated with fear include rapid breathing, a raised heart rate and sweating."
    Worry is a sin, and you are right in that we need to learn to trust God that He will look after those who are dear to us. Even when bad things happen we still need to trust Him and look to Him to supply all our needs and carry us through as He has promised He will do, even in times of grief.

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    1. Worry and fear are both sins and we fall into these quickly and without thinking. Mothers worry a great deal, but when worry turns to fear and that is when it becomes a bigger problem. It doesn't mean all mothers are fearful all the times but when they are, its unhealthy and achieved nothing. Often however they place restrictions on themselves and their children based on nothing but what they think might happen - their fears. Fear may have nothing to do with danger - its just an imagination thinking the worst when it may never happen or likely to happen. Its can become quite irrational and not fact-based at all.

      Worry, being afraid and fearful are all things we need to learn to not do and its very difficult for many mothers as their love for their children is so strong. However for some mothers its critical they get it under control otherwise it can rule their lives.

      Thankyou for your comments.

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  4. Dear Jo. I do not think you have muddled anything; as your examples proved the difference of the two! Of course there is a fight or flight response to self protect ourselves.
    But learning to trust God is a process He teaches us! And we must tell our bodies to come down when we are hit with a shock! I learned this after having a panic attack many years ago! This is a well written post and I thank you for sharing this insight, Blessings Always, Roxy

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    1. Thanks Roxy, glad you saw my point of view:)

      Its not that mothers live in constant fear - but we get fearful over things we shouldn't and I for one learnt it didn't achieve anything except high blood pressure and feeling ill. It certainly didn't stop things from happening. Its a lesson we must learn and its part of our journey in trusting in the Lord with all things.

      have a lovely week ahead:))

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  5. This is very good. It is important for us to remember and stand our ground. The enemy of our soul keeps us captive through fear… but with our Father.. there is no fear in His love. I loved your comparison of fear to danger. How it is important to be careful… but not to be fearful. It
    is all very good to teach our children these things.
    Blessings,
    Pam

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    1. When I was writing this I discovered that the Lord tells us many times to "not to be afraid". But He also knows we are so weak that we become fearful, worry and being afraid even without thinking. It is so important to train ourselves to not panic or become fearful and always think first of the Lord. However I am the first to admit how hard it can be.

      Blessings:)

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  6. This is wonderful - great reminders and I like how you separate danger and fear. Good points. Thank you. Gentle Joy

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  7. I love this verse, Jo :-)
    Blessings :-)

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  8. Your post is an excellent reminder, Jo. The Scriptures remind us over and over not to be afraid - and it's not like we're isolated in our feelings of fear - throughout history the Bible records those words of courage and encouragement to not be afraid, so we can learn from this that everyone all down through the ages has felt fear - we're not alone! There's not so many reminders in the Scriptures about not worrying - far more about not fearing. And I do think in many ways that worry and fear are very similar - a worry can BE a fear of the worst or a fear of the outcome. Anxiety is caused by fear.
    Deuteronomy 31:8 "And the LORD, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed." Those words were spoken before the children of Israel even faced their enemies - which to me would mean that at this time they were more "worrying" about danger than actually "fearing" imminent danger - and yet they were told to not fear. So worry and fear are definitely very similar and sometimes even interchangeable, I believe.

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    1. I just thought of another encouraging verse:
      2 Timothy 1:7
      "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

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    2. Thanks Clara - so many verses in the bible tells us to trust, not be afraid, lean on Him etc... however we seem to ignore this so often and do the everything we are asked not to do. Humans fall so quickly into worry even without thinking, we need the innocents of a child who just don't do this - sadly as adults we can't help ourselves. I did it myself this afternoon and it took me a few hours to realise what I was doing :(

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  9. Fear is not of God for sure! Blessings for a wonderful and encouraging post.

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