Week 8 - Arachnophobia

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?

Late one spring my mother and I set out to visit our local beauty salon.  I had barely slept the night before as I anticipated how wonderful my hair would look after my first permanent.  You're laughing right now, aren't you?  After an hour of hair-pulling, nasty-smelling suspense, I arose from my beauty salon throne a new girl!  My naturally wavy auburn hair had been transformed into a full-blown mass of frizz and curl.

Once the crying subsided, I decided to go outside and play for a while.  Might as well try to forget about it, right?  The distraction seemed to work as I was feeling much better about the whole situation.  That is until I noticed something dangling from my bangs.  A left behind permanent rod you ask?  Why no, it was a big, fat, disgusting barn spider!  Apparently the little procrastinator was too lazy to build his own web, so he decided to move into my new rat's nest instead! 

I have always been deathly afraid of spiders, so finding my little stow away was quite traumatic for me.  In no time at all I had convinced myself that for some strange reason the spider was attracted to my newly curled hair.  Suddenly the next six to eight weeks stretched out before me like a nightmare.  There would be a mass migration to my curly head of every species of spider known to man!  My future seemed very grim as I anticipated the horror of it all.

Isn't fear a funny thing.  It can start out so small and grow at such an alarming rate.  We can begin to feel overcome in little to no time. Fear is most often completely irrational and can lead even the most intellectual of people to the strangest conclusions.  Many people don't realize this, but God knows fear is a major issue for us.  In fact, He tells us in one form or another "do not fear" about 365 times throughout the Bible.  That's once for every day of the year! 

So what can we do with all this fear?  Well, since most fears are based on fiction and our own vivid imaginations, common sense would tell us the way to combat fear would be to focus on what we KNOW is true.  And what's the source of all truth?  God's word is.  So the next time you find yourself overcome with fear, get into God's word and seek His guidance and peace.  Choose to believe in Him and His faithfulness.  In other words, choose faith in God and don't believe everything you fear. 

~Up Close and Personal~

Can you think of a time when your fears took over?

Looking back on the situation, do some of the thoughts you were having in that moment now seem very irrational?

~Name It~

Read Psalm 27:1 aloud.

It’s perfectly normal to experience fear.  What we do with our fears is what matters most.  What is the promise found in Psalm 27:1?

When we turn to the Lord as our light and our salvation, we will have nothing and no one to fear!  How do you think this truth is applied to our everyday lives?

Again, we are faced with a choice.  When we find ourselves in a situation that evokes fear, we can choose to focus on the situation and let the fear overwhelm us or we can shift our focus to God and trust in Him to deliver us. 

Courage is often mistaken as the opposite of fear or the lack of fear.  The true definition of courage is the ability to confront and overcome one’s fears.  My challenge for you the next time you are filled with fear is to turn to God and trust in Him.  He will give you all the courage you need.

~Claim It~

Dear Heavenly Father, in today’s world there always seems to be an abundance of things that can fill us with fear and worry.  I pray that you would help us trust in you.  Give us the reassurance of knowing and experiencing your love first hand.  Strengthen our faith in you!  Help us overcome any unbelief we may be struggling with.  In all things, help us seek you and your will for our lives.

In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.