What Are You Afraid Of?

 

The Scream~ Edward Munch, 1893

"The remarkable thing about God is when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you don't fear God you fear everything else."  ~ Oswald Chambers, evangelist

👀 I was driving my granddaughter the other day for a date to celebrate her 7th birthday, when I looked over and saw a spider hanging down on the inside of my car from the passenger's visor.  I cannot tell you the panic I had, the scream I let out, and the frantic maneuvering I did in the car to try to safely pull over before the spider crawled over to my side of the car.  

👀 As I finally did park and eliminate the ARACHNID from my car, I apologized for 'freaking out', and my granddaughter said very calmly, "That wouldn't make me freak out."   Well, little did she know that Wikipedia defines an arachnid as a joint-legged ANIMAL, along with scorpions.  Maybe in a few years she'll understand the necessity of me most excellently parking my car and saving our lives.  

Or maybe she will never learn that fear.  

👀 Do you think we learn to be afraid?  I mean, I remember never sleeping with my closet door open when I was a kid because I always thought something was in there looking at me.  So real. I also have a healthy fear of being struck by lightning when I'm upstairs in my bed during a storm (though the chances are 1 in 15,300, according to Britannica).  

Don't get me started on the headless horseman.  

The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane~John Quidor, 1858

👀   Psychology Today says we most likely aren't born to be afraid.  Babies don't show fear until they are about 8-12 months of age.  (P.S. - they also say spider fears are the most common, and that we could possibly learn this particular fear early on because they ARE A PREDATOR-their words, not mine.)  

Before judgment reigns in your mind, check out these common phobias & see how many you can identify (answers at the bottom of the blog):

a.  glossophobia    e. ophidiaphobia 

b.  astraphobia       f. spheksophobia

c.  ailurophobia      g.  lilapsophobia

d.  musophobia      h.  gamophobia

Here's a few rarer phobias, but enough people have them they felt the need to name them:

    

    anatidaephobia - fear of ducks watching you

    emetophobia - fear of vomiting

    scopophobia - fear of being stared at

    trypophobia - fear of clustered patterns of irregular holes (personal favorite🤣)

And finally, the newest, most common phobia that most of us have---

    nomophobia (fear of being without your phone).

Let's talk about our fears as we grow up.  They have a little less to do with zombies, the arachnid or dinosaur world, alien abduction or the boogie man.  Our fears as we get older center around relationships & our interactions in the world.  According to ListeningPerspectives.com, the seven deadly fears most people have are:  

                                1.  The fear of being alone

                                2.  The fear of connecting 

                                3.  The fear of being abandoned 

                                4.  The fear of self-assertion 

                                5.  The fear of lack of recognition 

                                6.  The fear of failure and success 

                                7.  The fear of being fully alive 

👀 Each of these fears can cause anxiety & depression,  lead to withdrawal, lack of fulfillment in our lives, loneliness and a host of other feelings of "less thans". 

I read this list and instantly thought of disclaimers for every one of them!  God understands what each of these fears feels like.  He came out of perfect heaven to our broken earth, lived the most human life full of humiliation, loneliness, abandonment by his friends, lack of acknowledgment for the Holy Son that He was, and then suffered an excruciating death where He was ridiculed, mocked & tortured.  He could have saved Himself from all of this but chose not to out of His love for us.  

Isaiah 41:10    "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Matt 28:20  ..."And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Deut 31:6  "Be strong and courageous.  Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you."

1 Pet 5:7  "Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you."

Rom 8:31-33  "What, then, shall we say in response to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own son, but gave Him up for us all- how will He not also, along with Him, give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies."  

Rom 8: 35, 37-39  "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. "

Ps 68:5  "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling."

Ps 147:3   "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

He has never changed, and will not change.  His Word tells us who He is, and who we are to Him.  He hears us when we call out to Him.  We are precious in His sight & we were created by Him to enjoy everything He has freely given to us as His precious children.  We're never alone.  Let the demons tremble with fear.  As for us, we declare- We. Fear. Not. 

✙ Our Heavenly Father, You see us always, You don't ever leave our side, and You cherish us.  Thank You for never changing.  Because You are always with us we don't ever have to be afraid.  Because You recognize & connect with us we assert ourselves with confidence in You.  Nothing and no one can be victorious over us.  Help us embrace our precious relationship with You and guard it at all costs.  Thank You that you've already given us the Spirit of power to do that - not one of fear. Because of You we are fully alive. Amen.   

 

Answers to phobias: