Fear

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 
 -- Psalms 23:4

What are you afraid of? Be honest. Some of the things I'm afraid of:

What others might think of me
Falling--of failing God and friends
Messing up God's plan for my life
Stepping out of my comfort zone
That things won't get better
An unknown future

Really, I'm afraid of the dark. Not literal darkness (though that can sometimes be pretty scary too), but the darkness that clouds our everyday lives. I don't know what will happen tomorrow. I don't know what other people will think of me. I don't always know what is right. There's a darkness over this world hiding the way things should be and we're afraid of it. We call this darkness "reality".

Sure, all this spiritual talk about light and darkness and faith and how everything belongs to God sounds really nice, but you have to face the facts. We live in reality, not fairytale land. There's bills to pay, mouths to feed, people to impress. All this stuff we have to worry and stress about because that's the way things are. That's reality.

"The uninhibited dream, which is in revolt against reality and its limitations, is the most substantive truth of existence." -- Jewish tradition

We live our lives trying as best we can to avoid death and pain and suffering. It makes us uncomfortable. It reminds us that we are mortal, that our lives are fragile--that we have no control. We've created this illusion that somehow by worrying about this and that we can guarantee ourselves another day of our comfortable lives.

What if you knew God as well as you know your earthly father or best friend? Take a moment to really think about this---the God of the universe speaking with you face to face. How would life be different? I think maybe the problem is we don't really know God.

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  -- Philippians 3:10-11

Return to "Days of Awe"