Fear is a Terrible Waste of Time

Fear can be paralyzing. Encapsulating. Imprisoning. Fear deceives. Fear disables. Fear sucks. And, it's a terrible waste of time and energy.

We're coming up on the three year anniversary of our move to ND in June. A lot of people have asked me in those three years, "weren't you scared?" No. I wasn't. I never gave fear a second thought. I knew, without a doubt, that God had called us to ND for some purpose. So no I wasn't scared to leave the only home I'd ever really known. I wasn't scared to buy a house without ever having stepped foot in it. It just never occurred to me to be afraid.

But, about six months later, I realized I was terrified. Job-hunting had proved fruitless for Scott. Our neighbors didn't rush over with muffins like Bree on Desperate Housewives. And winter was knocking on our door. I'd only been to the snow a handful of times and certainly had never driven in it. And, sitting in the Grand Theatre watching "Facing the Giants" I realized I was scared. Scared stiff. A few days later I heard "Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns on the radio. If you don't know it, I've posted the lyrics at the end of this post. There I was, pulling into the Big Lots parking lot, tears streaming down my cheeks. Wow. I was scared.

In "Facing the Giants" one of the characters says that the phrase "do not be afraid" is mentioned in the Bible 365 times. I decided I needed to research this. Certainly someone had listed all of these verses. But I didn't get around to it. Then one day a week or so later, I fell and sprained my ankle. I had nothing to do but sit around with my Bible and laptop looking up every last "do not be afraid" phrase in the Bible. And I did it. I found 'em all. I even made myself a nifty calendar with a verse for each day.

It's funny to me how God orchestrated a movie, a song and an ankle to help me overcome my fear. Only God could pull off such a bizarre combination of events.

In the years that have gone, I've encountered many people who are fearful. Lately, the biggest thing people are afraid of is job-related. And indeed it is a scary time for a lot of people. But fear is just such a waste of time. It has no benefits. And it stops us from doing the very thing we need to do more times than not. So, if you're reading this and you're afraid, email me. Somewhere around here I have a calendar of all the verses that I'd love to give you. And repeat after me, "Fear is a waste of time."