Fearless

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

This verse and MANY more like it are littered through the pages of the Bible like confetti after a celebration. God clearly has a loud and clear message for His children: Be fearless.

Even as we read that, something inside of us pushes back. “Fearless? Have you read the news? Do you see what COULD happen to you? Or what if someone laughs at me? What if I fail? What if I’m making a mistake? What if I think God said it, but He didn’t? What if it costs me something I love? What if it costs me my life?…” The playback in our heads when we think about being fearless is literally overwhelming.

The other extreme we tend to go to in our mind is that we should be REALLY fearless and try to prove that death has no power over us. That’s when you read the news about people playing with venomous snakes and running through heavy traffic. Yes, that’s fearless, but it’s also stupid.

That means that somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot with God. Somewhere where stupidity stops and the death grip of the unknown is released from our lives. It’s the place where we understand the victory that God has given us and we walk in the confidence of that as we do the daily things He’s asked us to do.

As I raise my two children, it is the fear and the insecurity within them that I wish I could take away the most. I know that they have the ability to rise to the challenge. When they fall short, not because of the lack of talent, but rather the lack of trying due to fear, I cringe to the core of my being. I see the potential and, as a mother, I see how simple the task before them REALLY is, not their perception of it. How similar it must be as our God watches our lives! If only we could let our perceptions fade into the reality of God’s view!

The biggest problem with living a life gripped in fear is that we also live lives without miracles. Being fearless results in the hand of God moving in ways beyond our means and that is the part of Christianity that is inspiring and compelling! Maybe that’s why God says to be fearless over 300 times in the Bible…He really wants to show us the awe-inspiring, all powerful, miraculous God that created the universe at the snap of His finger and parted the Red Sea at the request of a man. When we “get” being fearless, He gets to be a Holy God in full display in our lives.

So, what’s your fear? What do you worry most about? And what would happen if you just let it go?