Fears

Ads for haunted houses are popping up all over the place these days. Obviously due to Halloween is just around the corner. I guess I really never got into haunted houses. I went to a few over the years but they were never really my cup of tea. Scary movies were never really my thing either. I remember Freddy and Jason, I even read a couple of the Halloween books. I just never really was into that sort of thing I guess. Maybe I was a pansy and just didn't like being scared, I really don't know. I heard an ad on the radio today for a haunted house of some sort and I got to thinking. What scares me? What do I fear? For most of my family that I don't get to bugged or worried about things most of the time. But some things really get me. So I really started thinking tonight what am I scared of? I used to have a fear of speaking in front of people. I still get nervous sometimes, and I have been known to get pretty emotional when speaking to groups, but I am not afraid to get up and speak. Heights bother me, but I don't think that I am scared of heights. If I have to I will climb on a roof, or up a tree. I am not going to volunteer usually, but I am not really afraid to do it. My dad might differ since I made him do all the really high up painting this summer. I can't think of anything that I am actually fearful of, except one thing. It really isn't one thing but a kind of an all-encompassing thing. See I am afraid of that which can adversely affect my family that I have no control over. The attacks that come from other people, agencies, or elements that I can't see coming, have no way of stopping, and can't control. I like to have a sense that I have at least a little control over things in my life, but there are a lot of things that I have absolutely no control over. That is what scares me. These things require me to have faith and trust in other things. This is something that I have always struggled with. The helpless feeling that comes when you have no control of a situation, it makes me uneasy just thinking about it right now. When that feeling comes I try to think about a portion of Scripture that calms my spirit. 

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

The "them" refers to the nations that the nation of Israel will encounter as they enter into the Promised Land, but I think that we can apply that to the things that scare us in our lives today. We don't have to be afraid of anything. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5,6 (NIV)

So what are you afraid of? Who or what do you put your trust in?