Fear & Bravery

I so desire bravery.   

Bravery cannot exist without fear.

Let me tell you the truth about how I feel about fear.

Fear is a nasty thing in our society – American society and American church society.  If you have it?  Don’t expect to succeed in that job of yours.  Don’t expect to get promoted, don’t expect to achieve your dreams.  You are crippled, and as good as someone thrown in the quarantine room.  What I hear all the time is “don’t be afraid!” and “let go of your fear!”

Well, I would like to call BS!

Fear is one of the heartbeats of life.  It is what the best stories are made of!  It is next to love, passion, and adventure.  A life without fear would denote a life choked out, and really, you’d just be lying to say you didn’t have any.

It’s what we do with that fear that matters.  Of course, I don’t mean to live a life of fear, because then you would be crippled!  You would be the one sitting in your house all the time trying to avoid that which scares you.  Take fear and admit it, and bring it in the love-light of Jesus!  It cannot be cast out without His love!  Don’t deny it.  Don’t shove it into the quarantine room of your heart.  His Love makes us brave in the face of what is scary.  Because He is bigger than the biggest thing that scares us in the biggest way.  And He loves us.

John A Shedd wrote,

“A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for.”