Fighting Fear with Faith (January Column)

Have I not commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 Amplified

      Much better, thank you. Turns out I “just” had the same bad cold a lot of us are having…and I’m over it. The doctor looked at my sinuses yesterday and said they looked good.
      Forgive me; I panicked. It’s something I’m subject to. When something bad presents itself, I go to the worst case scenario and scare myself to death. Anxiety seems so natural to me that I almost don’t know who I am unless I’m afraid of something.
     I think the tendency runs in my family. My grandmother’s fears were legendary. I remember my aunt teasing her about locking a window in her apartment over a nine-story drop. “Mother,” she laughed. “It would take a human fly to break in here!”
     I believe her son, my father, was subject to the same anxieties and tried to drink himself brave. The alcohol, of course, only caused him (and us) grievous problems…and didn’t work. So I have a reason but not an excuse.   
     I realize that giving in to that besetting fear has stolen my peace, confidence and joy in life. This past year of illness, for instance, has left me in such a state that I’ve been afraid to take on anything new or make plans for trips…“for fear I’ll get sick.” I even was afraid to keep reading a novel I was enjoying because the hero was in such danger I feared he wouldn’t survive. And it was only a story…about people in the 13th century! Good grief.
     My Dad and my grandmother showed no evidence of fighting their fear with faith.
     But with God’s help, I intend to. I recognize that, in this broken world we live in, there’s always something to be afraid of. And our Enemy makes sure we know what it is. But courage is forward motion in the presence of fear. I can feel fear but I don’t have to allow it to control me. I can, as Joyce Meyer says, “Do it afraid.”
     Why? Because I can make a choice to believe in God. I can believe God loves me and He will take care of me, no matter what. Just before this famous command to Joshua, God said, “…I will be with you; I will not fail or forsake you.” (1:5)
     I cannot trust my circumstances to bring me the peace and joy I need. But I can trust my God. He’s been faithful all my life; He will be faithful now.
FATHER GOD: Help me meet fear with faith. Amen.
First published in Bozeman Daily Chronicle, January 22,2017.