You are to regard only the LORD of Hosts as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be held in awe.

 Isaiah 8:13 HCSB

Fear of failure.

Fear of people.

Fear of being different.

Fear of the unknown.

Fear of being known.

Fear of death.

Fear of the future.

The struggle to be free of these fears is genuine for many of us. The lie says we are the only ones enslaved by fear. The truth for Jesus’s followers is that God did not give us a spirit of fearfulness (2 Timothy 1:7), but it’s challenging to live out this truth practically.

What if we stopped striving to stop these fears and instead started embracing the “fear of the LORD?”

Trying to stop a thought or behavior doesn’t get us anywhere but a vicious cycle of defeat.

As a child and teen, I was afraid to make new friends. I had a best friend, but I hid behind her in public. Trying new things frightened me. I feared underachieving in school. Social events petrified me. No prom. No homecoming. Not even a date.

Heart paralysis ruled.

I settled for mediocre jobs. I flitted from one position to another before someone got to know me too well. Friendships shattered when difficulties arose.

I failed to honor my parents as a child. Is it a wonder that I’ve been married three times? Being a follower of Christ didn’t prevent me from making poor relational decisions.

If only . . .

What if. . . I placed my delight and awe in God, my heavenly Father? The ONE who has done everything for me, provided for me, saved me, protected me, secured me, loved me.

What if. . . something terrible happens as I shift control from fearing stuff to fearing You, God?

He answered, “That’s how trusting Me works. . . I know and understand your fears. . . and I do not condemn you.”

Karen Sims