RECOGNIZING OUR FEARS

The Coronavirus Pandemic is the source of much fear through-out the world today. It came like a “thief in the night.” But, perhaps the real thief is fear, itself. Fear can be very ambiguous or vague, unless we are able to be specific and name our fears. Some people are deceived into believing that they are afraid of nothing because they see fear as merely an emotion without substance. Once we can name our fears, we can conquer them. Knowing what fears we have already conquered can give us courage in facing and over-coming other fears. The following list of fears are fears that I think are very common to most humans.

· Fear of hurting others – Who?

· Fear of manipulating others

· Fear of deceiving others

· Fear of not living up to expectations of others – Who?

· Fear of disappointing others or letting others down – Who?

· Fear of losing respect or trust of others – Who?

· Fear of taking on more than you can handle

· Fear of mental illness

· Fear of getting a job and losing it

· Fear of permanent disability

· Fear of being healed – of responsibility

· Fear of not getting a job we like – of never finding a job

· Fear of homelessness

· Fear of dependency

· Fear of being independent

· Fear of rejection

· Fear of being misunderstood

· Fear of being a “loser”

· Fear of failure – of missing the mark

· Fear of the unknown – of not knowing

· Fear of being useless – of not being needed

· Fear of being wrong

· Fear of being deceived

· Fear of life

· Fear of being disappointed

· Fear of losing

· Fear of being abandoned

· Fear of being unloved

· Fear of being responsible for others – of having others depend on you

· Fear of weakness

· Fear of the truth

· Fear of exposure

· Fear of commitment and not being able to keep it

· Fear of life after death

· Fear of a loved one dying

· Fear of surgery and hospitals

· Fear of addiction

· Fear of losing control over myself – fear of being out of control

· Fear of being alone

· Fear of dying

· Fear of confrontation

· Fear of not being able to defend myself.

· Fear of the dark – fear of blindness or not being able to see

· Fear of aging – of growing old

· Fear of pain

· Fear of not being able to breathe

· Fear of any harm to our loved ones – physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually

There is a fear, however, that can be very beneficial to us. It is an aspect of wisdom. It is a natural fear that prompts us to use caution and seek discernment. It causes us to stop, look, and listen when we sense danger or evil nearby; or when we need to make an important choice or decision.

The fear of the Lord is a recognition of God’s power and majesty and prevents us from being overly confident of what we can do, as well as presuming upon God to the point that we believe we can manipulate or use him for our own benefit. The fear of the Lord enables us to be in great awe of God – to reverence him. This fear prevents us from ever thinking we can fool God or hide from him. We fear the loss of God or of being separated from him. This kind of fear prevents us from forgetting God and getting lost.

Once we recognize our fears, we can look for the means to over-come them. But, some fears can only be over-come through the grace of God; through the power of love.

So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. In this is love perfected with us, . . .. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because he first loved us. 1Jn 4:16-19

The more we come to know how much God loves us, that he will never reject or abandon us, that we will never be alone, the less fear we have. Knowing God’s love for us enables us to love God and others, conquering all fear.