Do Not Fear!

When I was a little girl I was afraid of the dark!

My parents had to leave my bedroom door open when I went to bed…it was too dark if they closed it!

I never let my feet or legs hang over the bed!

Why?

Because of the monsters that might be lurking beneath my bed!

And I panicked when my mom or dad would ask me to go down to the basement to get something…especially if it was after dark!

I would flip on all of the lights…dash down the stairs…grab the item...and run as fast as I could back up the stairs…closing the door quickly behind me…making sure that whatever lurked down below…could not follow me upstairs!

Mind you…it was a finished basement and completely non-threatening!

And if I am completely honest…even today…when I am home alone…I will still run up the basement steps as quickly as possible!

Why am I sharing this?

Because I have been reminded of this the last few days!

My husband headed out of town this past weekend, so I have come home to a quiet and empty house!

And though he has traveled for several years…after he has been home for several weeks/months…I get use to and like having him home!

So, when he leaves, I have to get used to being home by myself again!

It wasn’t as bad when all of our children still lived home…there was a lot of noise and activity, so the void he left when he was gone wasn’t as noticeable!

But the last few nights…the wind has been ferocious and the house has groaned and creaked as the wind howled all around us!

I have caught myself stopping…listening…wondering…was that the wind…or something else??

And as I stooped to listen…I could feel my heart pounding in my chest…wondering…where did that sound come from?

And if that isn’t bad enough…just last night…there was a different noise!

I had crawled into bed early…was knitting Emmett’s blanket…when I heard a loud “thud”.

I paused my knitting…

Listened some more…

Waiting…wondering…

Would I hear that sound again?

Was someone in the house?

Have I shared that I have an extremely over-active imagination!

After waiting several moments…I gingerly stepped into the family room…peeped around the corner…and gazed into the large room…

With my heart thumping in my chest as I peered around the room…I noticed a couple of books that had fallen from the bookcase onto the floor!

My first thought was…how did that happen?

But then I reminded myself that I had just dusted those shelves earlier that evening…and possibly left the books closer to the edge than normal!

And of course…that was what I told myself, which was really just a way to reassure myself…that was the only possible explanation!

I quickly placed the books back in their spot on the shelf…and returned to my bedroom!

I literally had to tell myself…don’t dwell on this…God is with me…I am not alone! 

HE is always with me!

So, I returned to my knitting…resting in HIS word, which states…The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”…Deuteronomy 31:8.

And to make sure I know that I do not need to be afraid, my devotional the following morning addressed fear, which included:

“People are born into the world in spiritual bondage, including bondage to fear.  Because you inhabit both a fallen world and a fallen body, it isn’t easy to break free from fearfulness.  However, the Spirit of adoption can help you in this struggle, enabling you to see yourself as you truly are: a much-loved child of God!  The Spirit frees you to cry out, “Abba, Father”, believing you are His precious, adopted child.  In the presence of a loving, strong father even the most frightened child eventually calms down.  You have a perfectly loving, infinitely strong Father, so bring your fears freely to Him.  Let Him hold you close to His Abba-heart, where you know you are safe.  Open your heart to receive vast quantities of His Love.  The more of this Love you hold in your heart, the less room there is for fear.  Receive Our Love in full measure...From Jesus Lives by Sarah Young

I love how my morning devotional addressed the very thing that I had dealt with the night before!

And I love how she shared…”the more of this Love (God’s love) you hold in your heart, the less room there is for fear.”

Oh, how I desire more and more of Him…and less and less of anything else, including fear, in my life!

I know God is with me always! 

And when those anxious feelings being to take over…when my heart is pounding because I am afraid…I need only to turn to Him!

My Father desires nothing more than to calm my fears!

And I desire nothing more than to let him!

Dear Heavenly Father…thank you that I can bring all of my fears to you!  And thank you that when I do, you hold me close to your Abba-heart, where I know I am safe!  I desire to fill my heart with more and more of you!