Confronting Fear

When I was very young, I was afraid of the dark—and of the monsters that lived under my bed. I had never seen them, but I might as well have; they were very real in my impressionable mind. I knew they couldn’t be huge creatures, because there was only about twelve inches of space between the floor and the bedframe. Still, I could scoot under there with ease to retrieve my vagrant socks, so they were probably bigger than me! I was convinced they were mean and ugly, with a savoring appetite for little girls with brown eyes, dark hair, and knobby knees.

Mom and Dad bought a little yellow plastic nightlight in the shape of a friendly bear—about the size of a honey bottle. They placed it on my dresser. Whenever I woke up, I could see that there were no ugly beasts standing over me with sharp incisors, a bib around their neck, and a fork in their hand.

The nightlight was helpful, but it didn’t stop me from performing my nightly ritual of always checking under the bed before jumping beneath the sheets.

I eventually outgrew that childish fear, but other fears crept in as I got older. The fear of being picked last for kickball at recess. The fear that my best friend would no longer like me if I didn’t go to camp with her. The fear of standing alone at the high school dance. The fear I wouldn’t make it into nursing school. Once I reached adulthood, there were other worries—would there be enough money at the end of the month to pay the rent, would this or that relationship last, would the call be good news or bad…

Worries and fears were devouring my joy faster than a cormorant swallows a fish. What could I do about it? Maybe it was just my character. But once I became a Christian, I learned that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). If this spirit of what seemed to be an unhealthy fear—always causing anxiety—is not from God, well… that means it must be coming from our enemy—Satan. I then learned there was something I could do about that. This is spiritual warfare, and I could fight back. James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil, and he will flee from you. I have been known to say out loud, “Get out of here, Satan, in the name of Jesus.” Sometimes I envision an angel kicking the demon—not only to the curb, but all the way down the street. (This gives me great satisfaction.)

I’d like to be able to proclaim that I am now completely worry-free and have no fears. Those irritations do show up from time to time—occasionally on a daily or weekly basis—but now I jump on them and use the tools I’ve been given through the Word of God. It’s a delightful experience to know Satan is hightailing it to who knows where—and who cares?

Until next time… keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.