Fear

Proverbs 29:25   "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe."

     How often do we give FEAR power in our lives?  Fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear of pain and hurt, and fear of intimacy.  Fear can either motivate or paralyze you, it is how one deals with fear that determines which path they take.  Fear is a "fight or flight" emotion/ feeling.  It was never intended to be the gateway to worry!

     The Unknown is just that, unknown!  The only way to know is to experience it or to choose not to.  if you choose not to, then you need to let go and be at peace with that decision. The fear of the unknown leads to the "what if" game and that never ending cycle that follows.  "What if I fail?  What if I get hurt?  What if they hate me?  What if they think I am foolish?"  Notice that most of the "what if" game perpetuates negative outlooks.  Rarely do we consider "what if" something positive came out of it.  This is why fear can quickly move us into the quagmire of worry.

     I have tried to weigh my options and determine the risk involved in each case.  I have found that usually there is a course of action that makes the most sense to me, once I have prayed about it and I am comfortable with it - I act.  Worry only adds to the inner turmoil we all have and it slowly eats our spirit, destroying us from the inside.  We need to trust God and seek his guidance in our lives.