As we approach Halloween, I wonder what we really fear. Do we fear political leaders whom we think will destroy our lives? Do we fear those whom we think have power over us because of their status or wealth? Do we fear failure or embarrassment? Do we fear that we don’t think we measure up to the standards that we or others have put on us?
I
think many people fear the last items, but they focus on the first few items,
so they don’t have to face their real fears. We blame political leaders or
corporate leaders because we refuse to look inside ourselves and face the true
fears that lurk in our souls. Fear stands in opposition to trust, which stands
as a synonym for faith. We don’t trust that God can carry us through our
insecurities to become the purposeful human being that he created us to be.
Unless
you give them permission, no one can control your thoughts and beliefs. We
cannot blame other people for the mistakes that we make. We must face our own
failures, pick ourselves up, and move forward. The problem lies that we refuse
to admit to our own mistakes because we fear what others, or even ourselves,
will think about us.
Admitting
to our own failures and mistakes has become our biggest fear. We have become
accustomed to a society that claims being wrong equates to being a horrible monster.
Being wrong does not make you a monster. Claiming perfection can be monstrous.
As Christians, we must confess our sins to Jesus. That means, we admit that we make
mistakes and can be wrong.
As
young children, we feared the invisible and non-existent “Boogeyman.” As
adults, we have created the “Boogeyman” within us. We have followed the false
words of those on social media and in the mainstream media because it’s easier
to follow a falsehood than the truth. Jesus never promised us that we would
have an easy path if we followed the truth. He said that He would be there for
us to give us comfort during the difficult times.
Fear
comes from outside sources. Trust comes from within us. We choose if we will
trust the outside forces that lie to us, or if we will trust the truth of God
within us. We can walk with God without it being easy. The only reason we want
life to be easy comes from our false perception that if we follow Jesus and do
the right thing, then we will have a nice easy life. Nowhere in the Bible does
anyone claim we will have an easy life. In fact, we were told we will have
trials. (James 1)
The
scary part comes when the truth becomes muddled. We must study God’s Word and
learn the truth, not just the parts that make us feel good, but the uncomfortable
parts that make us confront our own sin in our lives. We don’t want to confess
our sins, because we fear the change that will occur within us when we
recognize the sin. We will be empowered to get the sin out of our lives. We must
embrace that act and not fear it. It creates a path that allows us to get back
up when we fail.
We
can be wrong. We can fail and come back from failure and succeed. the most
successful people in the world have failed. Without failure, you don’t grow. We
have allowed our fears to stunt our growth because we refuse to admit to our
wrongs and sins. We must grow and not let sin reign in our lives.
We
must embrace challenges and veer away from what seems easy. People want to
entice us with a smooth and easy life that in the end will be difficult. We
must trust God. We must face the fearmongers and not allow them to strike any
kind of fear into us.
Fearmongers
will make you afraid of everything going on in society. Truth tellers will
empower you to do what you can do to make a difference in the world no matter
what the circumstances. Make the choice. Will you be afraid? Will you have
faith and trust? The best life will be lived with faith and trust. The best
life will stray from fear and lean into the truth and trust.
