Do you live as afraid as I do?

Fearful of this memo pad with a mountain of to do’s and the daily snowfall of demands for my time. I’m terrified of telling friends I can’t meet for coffee or commit to dinner or even a phone call. The guilt and judgment that comes with letting people down scares the heck out of me. Staring at the mess of my past, I’m even frightened for the mate who is stuck with this backpack of struggles I carry around.

There’s remnants of a people-pleasing problem laced in the pain of my anxieties. Even as I write this, there’s a stream of sadness warping the sheets of paper because I want to be free from all of it. The fear of what others think. The shame that comes when I can’t keep up with the crowd. And here’s an underlying truth: it is hard to love people well if you do not show love to yourself.

For the last couple of months, I’ve experimented with different methods. There’s a mound of library books about anxiety toppling over the corner of my desk. Self-help podcasts sit on my desktop waiting to be played. I’ve tossed out thoughts with a therapist and swallowed vitamin supplements to relax. None of these are lasting solutions.

One of the great paradoxes of living life as a believer is gaining control over our thoughts while also surrendering them to Jesus?

In Scripture (Philippians 4:7), Jesus tells us that when we’ve given our anxiety and our prayers to the Lord, we will receive the gift of peace: “and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

We’re never more anxious to receive from God than He is willing to provide. Once we accept the sting of death is real and can happen, we drop this daily fear of living bravely. This is when we really leap into a life worth living.

We are all busy people doing important stuff. There’s a lot to do and not enough time. Life isn’t waiting on our schedule to catch up. In all of this strategizing and planning to be effective with what we have, let us not neglect the one thing that brings clarity to everything else: regular time with our heavenly Father.

Fear doesn’t have to be an enemy if we learn to put it to work. Healthy fear forces you to tune-in and pay close attention to what’s standing between you and living a free life.

Fear alerts you when to be cautious and when you to be bold with your choices. When you learn to master fearful emotions they become the most powerful wisdom teachers directing your decisions.

When you give fear the irrational power to paralyze you, it will stifle your progress. Fear is an opportunity to drive change in your life. For this reason, always remind yourself everything you want stands on the other side of fear.

Let go of the fear holding your mind hostage and start making friends with it.