I’ve heard it said that “I am not afraid of heights, swimming, love, or the dark.... just falling, drowning, rejection and what’s in it.” There are countless fears and phobias people have. Some fears are simply... well, dumb. Such as... Arachibutyrophobia: the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. (Really?!) Cacophobia: The fear of ugliness Geniophobia: The fear of chins Ideophobia: The fear of ideas Lachanophobia: The fear of vegetables (Many kids must have that one) Panophobia: The fear of everything Peladophobia: The fear of bald people Xanthophobia: The fear of the color yellow or the word yellow I personally can’t believe these exist! The fear of the word ‘yellow’? Really?! Uh oh, I probably just scared someone! Fear is the response to precieved threats of physical and emotional danger. If we didn’t fear something, we couldn’t protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But often we fear situations that are far from life-or-death. When I was young, to an extent, I was afraid of the dark, though I tried my best not to be. I wasn’t one of those kids who were attached to their nightlight. My teddy bear on the other hand... well, I confess, I still sleep with my stuffed unicorn. Not that I have to or anything. Today, I’m not afraid of the dark, but I have my moments... I think we all do. You’ve been there, you turn off the light in one room, and then race to the next so noone get ya. Or how about that awful feeling when you’re finding your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night and you think someone’s behind you! Talking of scary feelings, what about the split second when you lean too far back in the chair and you’re sure you’re going to die, and then it catches you. Actually, as far as fears go, If I’m afraid of something, I try to face it. If something scares me, I go face it. Being fearful toward something gives me more determination to do it. Last year on an overnight trip with my Youth Group we went to a water park and I faced a fear of a crazy high water slide with a drop straight down that you slid down on your back. That water slide scared me so much. It took at least five, maybe ten minutes to climb to the top of the tower. Looking over the edge down the slide made my heart stop. I almost backed out. But, whenever I feel that way toward something, I need to face it that much more. So, I sat preparing to push off into the unknown. Then, the moment came. ”Whenever you’re ready”, the worker said. I layed back, unsure if I would make it to the bottom alive or not, and then, dropped off. It was awesome! I felt like I was flying. I’m not afraid of heights overall, but there are situations like this one that will scare me. I love rollercoasters, and anything dare-devil like. I would love to go sky diving and bunjee jumping. My fears don’t typically show themselves in that way. There are things I do fear, though I would never tell anyone. Who needs more ammunition to use against me? Growing up, I learned a lot about fear. Fear can be used for good, or it can be used to your destruction. Sometimes we fear a situation or decision so much that we freeze, or make the wrong choice. There are situations we face that fear is president while our faith is nowhere to be seen. Rather than feeding our fears, we need to feed our faith and our fears will starve themselves. I was going through some notes I have taken throughout the years and I ran across one page that really stuck out to me. On the page there were two verses written. And those verses spoke volumes to my heart: Ps. 56.3 “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Is. 12.2 “...I will trust, and not be afraid...” at the bottom of the page there was written this simple statement. "Trust first, it's much better that way." The grand canyon is such a beautiful place; one of the natural wonders of the world. Though I have never been there in person, the pictures prove it’s beauty. Extremely high cliffs and ledges, there’s no doubt, if you fell off one of the cliffs, you would not make it to see another. But imagine standing near the edge of one of the drop-offs at the grand canyon. You have two options. You can either fear the danger, or enjoy the view. The same as is in life. When you’re pushed to the edge of difficulty, you can either be afraid, or you can trust the Lord and watch the moving of His hand. God is in control of your life. If you are His child, you are in His hands. He will take care of you. Rather than fearing the unknown, rest in knowing He is there. Whenever you fear a sitution, turn to the Bible. Remind yourself of who God is, what He is, and what He can do. If we get our heads wrapped around who God is, we would never fear again. Whenever I think of how awesome God is, I am just mindblown. My God is an awesome God!
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Lizzy parkerMarriage.
Motherhood. Ministry. Missions. Archives
January 2023
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