Friday, 19th March 2021–Moving beyond fear
By knowing we will make mistakes, we disarm the lie that we have to do our work perfectly. The knowledge that we cannot be perfect takes away our excuses and makes us face fears.
A lesson I need to learn:
When the universal liar taunts me with ‘you will fail’, I reply ‘So what?! At least I will learn something…even if that lesson is not to do it again!’
As I get older, the fears that nip at me are different than the fears I had when I was in my 20’s and 30’s.
Yet, I was in my 20’s when I realized that what I do today is preparing for tomorrow. Experience helps me to dispel my fears more quickly.
I’ve also learned that when I share my fears with others, some of those fears are universal. By sharing my thoughts with others, it allows them to open their hearts and we find courage together. Maybe they have experienced something similar, but overcame the challenge that made them tremble. Their experience provides wisdom for me and others.
Self-publishing my book requires that I learn about marketing. I have never been much of a sales person. One of my fears is, ‘Where do I even start’? I often feel so overwhelmed that I freeze, or allow myself to get distracted.
Is there something that I should do first? What if I don’t do it first, and therefore puts everything else out of kilter? Who has the best system? It is like being on a merry-go-round, riding the horses but never getting anywhere. So, I stop the questions and decide to make a list, organize my thoughts.
My dad used to tell me, ‘Do something, even if its wrong.’ The sentiment is that an action creates movement—and if you have done the wrong thing, the results will provide an insight into what the right action is.
What if, instead of being afraid of making a mistake, we learn to ‘embrace’ the results of those mistakes? Because sometimes the mistake actually reveals the next step we need to take, or exposes the weakness that we can address and make it into strength. Those, ‘Didn’t expect that to happen’ moments are also ‘eureka’ moments.
I’ve heard it reported that the Bible records three-hundred, sixty-five admonitions to ‘Fear Not.” Therefore, one encouragement for each day of the year.
We acknowledge that not all fear is bad. Like, being afraid of fire, because it burns. Or being afraid of going out too deeply into the ocean, if you can’t swim.
The most important ‘good’ fear is the fear of the Lord. Fearing the Lord—holy, deep, reverence—is the beginning of wisdom.
When God gives us an assignment, fearing the Lord will take us beyond our fear of men. It will take us beyond the fear of failure, because obedience will take us through death to resurrection. When we fully believe we are loved, and we truly love others, we will do anything. Why because perfect love casts out all fear.
“17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love [a]Him because He first loved us.” 1John 4:17-19.