Leaving fear, to live in the fullness of peace
Martha Olawale
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines fear as “An unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.” No matter the form it takes, fear is unpleasant, and it sends our minds to the darkest alley of thoughts. Fear connives with our insecurities and limitations to render us hopeless. It leaves us mentally shaken and out of control. Fear envelopes and muddles the past with our present, making the future look bleak.
I’ve known fear for as long as I’ve known my name and before I had a savior to surrender my fear to, fear governed my mind like the commander in chief of my joy. It made me a prisoner to my past failures and a coward to my future exploits. It was the most dominating part of my emotions and raises its ugly head in the most unlikely situations. Before I see the stars in the sky, I saw the darkness surrounding them and the waves of the sea looked more terrifying than majestic.
Fear was a constant companion and an unwanted guest in every life decision. It raises the ‘what ifs’ and leaves me drained before I make any major life move. It was more than my disdain for spiders or height. It was living in the bondage of an unknown instead of the beauty and fullness of the present.
Knowing Jesus changed my life, my passion, my emotions, my expectations. While it did not dispense my fears, salvation aligned it with God. So, in place of fear, I see God in everything, and my nights are no longer dominated by the ‘what ifs’ but many supplications sent to a loving father. My failures look a little better now because I know God will mold beauty of them and when fear places a demand on my heart, I simply drop it at the feet of Jesus and allow Him to walk me through the maze. I am on a journey that leads to Heaven and the imbalances in my life are less intimidating because of the hope of making it to the presence of Jesus.
Regardless of how real your fears are, you can lay them all at the cross of Christ and allow Him to guide you through overcoming them (read “Hope, when you have nowhere else to turn to”). And, as you continue to lean on Him, your fears become His—reduced to nothing in the presence of God. Through faith, our fear is replaced with the assurance of 2 Timothy 1:10 (NIV), “But it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Salvation connects us to Christ’s victory over death, lifting us above the snare of fear. Martha Olawale
