What are you afraid of?
Is it a scary movie? Or walking to your car in a dark corner of a parking lot late at night? Or hearing heavy foot steps from behind you, getting closer?
Wikipedia defines fear as a "feeling caused by perceived danger or threat. Ultimately it causes a change in behavior, such as fleeing or hiding."
(Remember being taught the "flight or fight" response in your Introduction to Psychology class?)
Lou Dzierak, writing in Scientific American noted that "the behavior of people around us may influence our response to threatening situations."
In the same article, Michael Lewis, Director of the Institute for Child Development at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School said that "fear has a certain contagious feature to it."
In 1933, in the middle of the Great Depression, during his first inaugural address President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously said "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." He reminded the American people that despite outwardly dire circumstances, they had a choice in terms of how to respond.
So, if we don't want to spread fear, what is the opposite of it?
Christianity Today says faith, peace and confidence are fear's opposites. Which jibes with Merriam-Webster's listing of assurance, confidence, courage and fortitude as fear's antonyms.
King David, who knew a thing or two about fear, wrote "In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe." (Ps. 4.8).
From personal experience, he also wrote "Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident." (Ps. 27.3)
Jeremiah wrote down what God had to say about fear: "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." (Jer. 17.7-8)
There have always been terrible events, both at home and worldwide, that cause fear. It isn't a question of fear being justified, But it is a question of how we choose to respond when fear knocks on our door.
We can become anxious, frightful, agitated, and, in general, let fear bring out the worst in us.
Or, we can choose to look outside of the circumstances, outside of ourselves. To trust God.
When we do this, we are actively choosing faith.
With this option comes peace, hope and confidence. Not in ourselves. Not in being able to figure it all out. Not in denying the circumstances. But in choosing to look beyond them.
This perspective can make all the difference.
Photo Credit: www.theregister.co.uk
So, if we don't want to spread fear, what is the opposite of it?
Christianity Today says faith, peace and confidence are fear's opposites. Which jibes with Merriam-Webster's listing of assurance, confidence, courage and fortitude as fear's antonyms.
King David, who knew a thing or two about fear, wrote "In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe." (Ps. 4.8).
From personal experience, he also wrote "Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident." (Ps. 27.3)
Jeremiah wrote down what God had to say about fear: "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." (Jer. 17.7-8)
There have always been terrible events, both at home and worldwide, that cause fear. It isn't a question of fear being justified, But it is a question of how we choose to respond when fear knocks on our door.
We can become anxious, frightful, agitated, and, in general, let fear bring out the worst in us.
Or, we can choose to look outside of the circumstances, outside of ourselves. To trust God.
When we do this, we are actively choosing faith.
With this option comes peace, hope and confidence. Not in ourselves. Not in being able to figure it all out. Not in denying the circumstances. But in choosing to look beyond them.
This perspective can make all the difference.
Photo Credit: www.theregister.co.uk
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