What do you fear most?

My fears, you ask?  How about falling from heights…. being buried alive….  drowning….at one point in time I was afraid of death….now it’s just the fear of how I will die, not death itself.

Here are two things that  I will never do.   You can wheel my dead body out here, but while I am alive and kicking, these will mortify me forever…..

   The Grand Canyon sky walk …. and

  The glass ledge on the Sears Tower

DH and I actually went up to the top of the Sears Tower on our honeymoon 17 years ago…. way before this was added on, and I wouldn’t go near the windows.  Water parks…. I really had to FORCE myself to do one of those water slides with my kids where the bottom drops out from under you….. there was the fear of falling and drowning all in one.    I hate that feeling, but how do you make it go away?

All of those are ungodly fears.   There was a guy that lived down the street that I went to HS with….he was a senior, I was a freshman.   Just through some innuendo with knowing him, he really gave me the heebie geebies…. so much that I hated taking a shower for fear he was in the bathroom closet.    He died that year….even after he died and I knew he was gone, I still had that irrational fear that he would come back from the grave and haunt me.   I like Stormie’s word for it.  Torment.   I was/am  literally tormented by these fears.  Some I have overcome.  (Yes, David is not in my bathroom closet), but there are some that would still literally cripple me.  I need tons of prayer over those.

Here are 4 ways Stormie recommends to get rid of ungodly fear.

1. Praying: “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.” (1 John 4:18)  Draw close to your Abba Father and let his love consume you.   There is no fear in the Lord.

2. Control what you receive in your mind:  I don’t like watching the news anymore.  I’ve kind of given it up.  Yeah, I get surprised by the weather, since I didn’t watch the news, but there are too many images that require a brain scrubber sometimes….I loved scary movies as a teen.  Not anymore.  It was no fun trying to run to my bedroom when I was 18 in the completely dark house because I was afraid Freddy Kruger was around the corner…. (Actually, my brother took great pride in scaring the crap outta me then….he is 3 years younger!)   Fear disappears in the presence of the Lord.   Read your bible.  Pray.  Listen to praise music.   I like to do the latter.

3. Be in the Word of God: Reading and speaking the word aloud has so much power in it.  Takes away fear every time!

4. Live in the fear of the Lord:  No, don’t be afraid of the Lord.  That is not what fear of the Lord means.  Fear is respect.  Reverence.  Fear of the Lord makes you want to obey him.   It makes you forget all the things you are truly afraid of.   I can’t imagine my life without God.  Talk about scary!

The Lord is the light of our life.  He is our strength and our shield.  Whom shall we fear?  He is with us wherever we go.