DON'T BE LIMITED BY FEAR
Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong!
Fear not!
Isaiah 35:4-7a
Isaiah 35:4-7a
I have spoken these words from Isaiah the prophet to myself for most of my life because fear has had a tendency to be a ruling force throughout. Battling fear is still part of my everyday life! The world can be a scary place sometimes. The words of Isaiah are, for that reason, words we all need to take to hear and reflect on in a serious way.
When Isaiah first spoke these words to the people of the tiny kingdom of Judah, they were basically surrounded by the powerful Assyrian empire which was swallowing up all their towns surrounding Jerusalem. Even in the face of imminent destruction, the prophet calls the people to face their fears and to know that, in the end, God’s faithfulness to them would triumph, even in the face of collapse and captivity by their enemies. With all that going on around them, he says to them, “Be strong! Fear not!”
It still happens after all these years. I get on a plane by myself heading out to some far-flung diocese to face hundreds of priests and realize that I am overcome with fear and doubt – fear of rejection and doubt about my capabilities.
Even though I haven’t had a disaster yet, on the contrary appreciative acceptance, I have to talk myself up and my demons down every time I take off on another speaking trip. I can still remember being paralyzed by that same fear and doubt before opening the box my first published book arrived in – fear of rejection and doubt about my ability.
I have come to believe that many of us never become all we could become because of two things. (1) We are intimidated by the judging voices of others telling us that we can't, we shouldn't and we mustn't. (2) We are intimidated by our own criticizing, self-doubting voice telling us pretty much the same. Both voices say the same thing. “Who are you to do such and such? Who do you think you are, anyway? These demons must be slain or we will end up “settling” for a life marked by dullness, quiet desperation, resentment or even rage. Angelina Jolie said this, “If you ask people what they've always wanted to do, most people haven't done it. That breaks my heart.”
The secret to true personal freedom is the ability to face our fears, to stand up to our own cowardice and to do hard things for our own good. What I have learned from years of doing those things is that you end up amazed at the great things that will come to you, if you do!
Another thing I have learned is that it takes an amazing amount of concentration of the will to overcome the embedded negative messages we carry from childhood The good news is that with dedicated practice it is indeed possible to silence those messages somewhat and rob them of some of their power. I believe I am where I am today, able to do what I do, because of my determination to not allow fear and doubt to control me. I am very happy that, with God's help and my willingness to keep trying, I was able to overpower my own crippling messages!
The third thing I have learned is that there is wisdom out there that is available to us about overcoming fear and self-doubt that others can share with us. As you know, I collect motivational quotes and I regularly share some of my favorites on this subject in hopes that you can learn from them as well.
Fear probably defeats more people than any other one thing in the world. I once read that F-E-A-R stands for “fantasy events appearing real.” I read somewhere else that, statistically, about 90% of the things we worry about never happen. Jesus was so right when he said, "fear is useless, what is needed is trust." How we handle fear determines whether we experience adventure or whether we are limited by the fear of it. Without scary, we don’t get to be brave!
I would say that my life has been enriched every time I have gotten up the guts to look fear in the face and say “No, you are not going to run my life! I may fail, I may get hurt, I may be laughed at, but again I might not, so once and for all, be gone!” I had to stand down fear when I left home to go to the seminary at fourteen.I had to wrestle fear all throughout seminary so that I could stay in. I refused to be ruled by fear when I decided to be ordained, when I got my first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth assignment. I have had to deal with fear when I decided to retire and, because I refuse to stop growing and changing, I still have to deal with it as I welcome new challenges. I deal with it by saying "no" to it in the most firm voice I can! "What do you mean, I can't do it? Watch me!"
Students! The words of Isaiah today are spoke to you as well! ‘Be strong! Fear not!” Do not listen to the discounting voices of those who do not believe in you! Do not listen to that discounting voice in your own head that does not believe in you! Tell them both to shut up! Listen instead to God’s voice in your own heart – that tiny whispering voice that gets drowned out by the discounting noise of the world and that discounting noise that goes on in your own head. God's voice is telling you not to fear, to be strong and to know that "yes you can because I am with you!"
Take it from one who has been there! God has great plans for you! He wants to take you to places who cannot even imagine for yourself! Do not let fear hold you back, wherever its source, from becoming who you really are and who you can become - your true self! Henry Ford may have said it best when he said, “Those who think they can and those who think they can’t are both right!
