Fear Factor

One day this summer I was at a store with my daughter.  As we were picking out some toothpaste  my attention was drawn to a lovely middle aged woman who had special needs.  She was speaking to herself, barely above a whisper, wondering what some items cost.  Because of her height disadvantage she could not see the prices of the product she was searching for.  I walked up beside her and tried to answer some of the questions she had.  As we talked I discovered that she came to the store with a friend but no longer knew where that friend was.  She asked me if I would be willing to help her find her friend.  For nearly an hour we walked the aisles searching for this mystery lady.  The more we looked without success the more fearful and anxious our new friend became.

I suggested we sit down by the pharmacy (the last place she was seen) and wait for her there.  But our friend insisted on searching down every aisle.  It was an awful feeling watching the fear build in her eyes every time we went down an empty aisle.  I kept thinking, if only we could sit and wait I'm sure your friend would find you much quicker.  But we kept walking and searching aimlessly.  Finally, after searching much of the store we found her friend, very close to the pharmacy.

As I left the store that day, I wondered how many times I let fear rule my footsteps.  Some of us can identify with letting our fears drive us.  Just like our lost friend searching the aisles aimlessly, we may keep on moving hoping that at the next corner our fears will be extinguished only to find more fears waiting to announce themselves.  So we keep going, trying to outrun the fears.

Others allow our fears to immobilizes us.  We're stuck, not willing to move.  What if I fail...what if I look silly...what if I loose control...what if something happens to a loved one...what if they reject me...what if nobody notices...what if I can't keep up...what if I say something wrong...what if ...???  

As the LORD clears the cobwebs from my mind that these questions leave I have a choice to make.  Am I going to choose to live in the prison of fear?  Or in the freedom of faith knowing that no matter what happens I am deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally accepted by the Almighty and complete in Christ?

Father, please help me to live a life of faith in You.