I Am Fear

Today, I came across a thought-provoking definition of Fear.  Fear is perhaps the most crippling emotion, robbing us of both our present and future.  It steals dreams, stifles love, buries forgiveness, and quarantines hope.  Fear is the one negative emotion mentioned throughout the Bible repeatedly.  The words, "Fear not" appear in God's word 365 times; seemingly one for each day of the year.

Reflect for a moment on how fear has infiltrated your life and heart.  Ask yourself, "What am I afraid of and what does it cost me?  What has it cost me and why did I allow fear to envelop my life at certain times?"   As you do, consider this definition from an unnamed source: 

"I am Fear.  I am the menace that lurks in the paths of life, never visible to the eye but sharply felt in the heart.  I am the father of despair, the brother of procrastination, the enemy of progress, the tool of tyranny. 

Born of ignorance and nursed on misguided thought, I have darkened more hopes, stifled more ambitions, shattered more ideals and prevented more accomplishments than history could record.

Like the changing chameleon, I assume many disguises.  I masquerade as caution.  I am sometimes known as doubt or worry.  But whatever I'm called, I am still fear, the obstacle of achievement.

I know no master but one; its name is Understanding.  I have no power but what the human mind gives me, and I vanish completely when the light of Understanding reveals the facts as they really are, for I am really nothing ... I am Fear."

If we find the courage to acknowledge our fears, we take the first step to controlling those same fears.  By taking this step, we open our hearts to understanding and are able to move past our fears and press toward the higher forces in life such as love and empathy and forgiveness, those forces that unleash hope and healing and faith.