The Fear Series: 4 Common Fears Revealed

Happy Friday!

Fall is welcomed. October is welcomed. Friday is definitely welcomed. 

It's also the fright season! What frightful things do you do to enjoy this time of year?
Scary movies? A haunted hay-ride?
 In past years I would get a group of friends together and go to a haunted house. In fact, the Soap Factory a local haunted basement in Minneapolis, is one of the scariest haunted tours I have ever gone on. A team of creative folks does their best to come up with a terrifying experience for visitors. I went once, but I never went again because it was too much! 

What better way to welcome in this spooky time of year than to dive into some of the most common human fears. Each Friday this month, I will be giving insight into my experience with facing some common fears and scriptures to help you along. Besides the common fear of spiders, mice (a personal one for me), snakes, and the like - this will be more of a fear journey of bigger concepts and ideas. We will discover what might be behind each of these fears, and how we can get rid of these creepy feelings and turn them into powerful motivations through Christ.

 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
 2 Timothy 1:7 

To start us off into this series, here is the short list of common fears in no particular order.

(1) Failure.
Fear of failure has creeped its ugly head up at the best of us. Its an unwarranted, persistent fear that you might do something so wrong, or not succeed in your efforts. This fear takes many to the point of not obtaining their full potential. They wallow in the what-ifs of life. Often angry at themselves for never taking the risk to get the reward, but all the time convincing themselves that they are not good enough anyway. Through Christ we can never fail. Seeing life through His eyes allows us to understand that every opportunity is a lesson learned and sometimes you cannot learn unless you experience something like "failure" and trust Him the entire way.
Check back for more on the fear of failure on October 10th.

(2) Rejection.

Fear of rejection has had its 15 minutes of fame, a time or two for many. For most it begins as wanting to belong or feel accepted by others. Most of my encounters with this feeling have been in looking for a job, forming new relationships (dating/friendships), and maintaining old ones. Some have even experienced this by being forced to care about things by others. Your father wants you to be a doctor, so you pursue a path in life to be accepted as the 'good child' by him. Often times people resort to phoniness in trying to pretend they are something that they are not. Not being their true selves that God created them to be. People-pleasing also arrives when dealing with this fear. Have you ever known someone who went to the extreme to make sure you liked them for no particular reason, but to be received well by you? With Christ we can have confidence in His word and where that guides our lives. Dealing with rejection can be rewarding as not every door is meant for you.
Check back for more on the fear of rejection on October 17th.

(3) Loneliness.

Fear of loneliness or being alone - can be shared not only by those who are single and have minimal relationships with others, but can also be a reality for those who have huge support systems visibly present. Loneliness looks different for many people. It can mean you always need a partner or you feel inadequate. It can mean you must always be in a social setting to feel your best. It could even mean you are scared or feel unsafe when you are alone at night.  I've experienced this first hand when I became pregnant. I felt like I was the only one going through what I was experiencing. It is a feeling of isolation and disconnection with others. But Christ can help change it all. He is the only one that knows your deepest thoughts and feelings, and can help you overcome them.
Check back for more on the fear of loneliness on October 24th.

(4) The Unknown. 
Fear of the unknown. How many of us have experienced this feeling? Unsure of what the future may bring, it can sometimes paralyze us. I remember back to when I began to learn how to drive. I was so scared because it was something that I had never done before. I was scared to take the driver's ed classes, I was afraid to go on my first drive, It was scary, but it was necessary to do if I wanted to drive. The same fear tried to approach me when it came to starting to illustrate. I'm still not sure of what my future holds, but I know that with Christ I don't have to carry these feelings. I can give them to Him and trust my future will come out just fine.
Come back for more on the fear of the unknown on October 31st.

Fears can be conquered! Take this journey with me each week in uncovering truths that can help us in becoming stronger in our faith and confidence!

Please leave a comment below and tell me what are some of the fears you have faced in your past, or are dealing with currently? What types of things have helped you overcome them?
 Share your thoughts to help one another!

Have a great weekend!

-J

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