FAITH vs FEAR

“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.”

Isaiah 41:10

I enjoy reading the Bible on BibleGateway.com.  I begin with the verse they have listed for the day and then open it up to the chapter and read all of it.....sometimes just that and sometimes more.  Interestingly, today's verse is  our congregation's theme verse for the series we began Sunday.  The theme is "Do Not Fear".  Our preacher....my brother-in-law.....made refrigerator magnets with this verse printed on it so that we can memorize it and say it together each Sunday morning.  

What are you afraid of?  Anything?  Nothing?

I'm afraid of snakes.  Extremely afraid of snakes.  They give me the willies :). (Is that a word??)

Years ago I had a coworker (only for a few weeks) who didn't like the fact that I was afraid of snakes.  She had a pet snake and couldn't understand why I would be afraid of them.  I really don't know, either, but I know it's a real fear.  In fact, at that time it was an extreme real fear.  I couldn't even LOOK at a picture of a snake or touch snake-skinned boots!  I'm not THAT bad now, but I still don't want to be near one.  

This coworker decided she wanted to "desensitize" me to help me become more friendly with snakes.  I assured her that there was no need in that and became pretty adamant that she shouldn't bring it to work (At a doctor's office!  Can you imagine??!!).  Finally I convinced her it wasn't a good idea and that I didn't want to be desensitized.  I'm positive my request made no sense to her, but thankfully for me, she wasn't a coworker there too long. I know she would have continued to try to help me with my problem!

God tells us not to be afraid.  Because He is with us, we should have no fear.....even with snakes around.  That may be hard for us to grasp.  It's hard for me to grasp when it comes to snakes!

I'm not afraid to fly.  Others are.  I'm not afraid of storms/tornadoes.  Others are.  

Most of us have some kind of phobia.  The problem comes when our fear of something takes over and eliminates our trust in God.  We don't have to be afraid.  We can put our total trust and total faith in Him.  Whatever scares us has no control when God is giving us strength.  He will help us overcome our fears - no matter what they are - whether big or small.

So, what are you afraid of?  Give that fear to God.  Ask Him to strengthen you and help you overcome that fear.  You may still be afraid, but when He's holding your hand and giving you strength, you can face whatever it is that comes your way!  Your FAITH takes over your FEAR!