Paralyzing Fear

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18

Life has a way of stopping us in our tracks. All of us have experienced good and bad times. We must remember that God loves his children and wants what is best for us. I have been told that God is molding me into what I am to become. I admit, sometimes I wish he would hurry up! Ask anyone who knows me, I do not do change well at all. The more routine life is the better I function! Seriously, change sometimes scares me. When things don't look like they have always looked or when I feel like I have no control over a situation; I can become stuck. I have said before, it is like I am knee deep in thick mud trying to move forward. At church camp, a couple of weeks ago, the Lord spoke to my heart about this very thing. We were having quiet time. Fear was far from my radar, or so I thought. I began reading my bible and the devotion provided for us. That devotion was perfectly written for me. I could feel the presence of God right then and there. It was then that I realized that I walk around this life waiting on something bad to happen. When asked what do I fear, immediately my answer was the health and well being of my children and family. Another adult, that was with our group, prayed with me. Soon after, the adults went to a bible study. I was sitting there minding my own business. The preacher asked the same question, "what do you fear?" God told me to give my testimony right then. Speaking those words of how I fear bad things happening to my children and why I have those fears was hard. My fears are probably no different than any other parent's. It is just that I have lived through a parent's worst nightmare; the death of a child. I have seen a child be traumatically injured by fire, and have seen that same child diagnosed with a life-long disease. On the flip side of the bad, we have seen the birth of a beautiful and healthy little girl, Kara Grace. Grace because of God's grace of blessing us with her. My fears are legitimate, but they are not of God. He has a purpose in it all and that purpose will be missed if I allow myself to be paralyzed with the "what ifs". I praise the Lord for showing me that He doesn't want me to fear, but that He wants me to look to Him in all things. He is the Alpha and Omega! He is love!

So, what do you fear? Ask the Lord to help you to recognize fear for what it is. I pray that God deliver you from fear. He's still working on me!!!!