We have previously examined how we begin to embrace life, first by acknowledging that we had a problem due to being indoctrinated, as is everyone, by the god of this world. Then we became aware of how we constructed what we thought were good defensive strategies. Out of that, we learned how to be compassionate with ourselves and others (see Climbing Out of the Shell).And then we discovered how to ditch the past, forget about the future, and live in the present moment (see Climbing Out of the Shell 2).
Now, we are going to uproot the fears that we carry, (see Evolution of the Dark Mind and Fearless), which prevents us from living out the stellar life that we can have through Christ, so that we may fear no more.
“Do not be afraid; only keep on believing [in Me and My power].” Mk. 5:36 AMP
We are, above all things, afraid of pain. Yet, even some of the inevitable parts of life may bring pain. So, we become afraid of life itself.
Moreover, we assume that anything that challenges our beliefs is a source of pain. However, pain does not come from the challenge; it comes from our resistance to it.
Resistance causes us to run, which increases our anxiety – not realizing that we are generating our own fear. So, if we choose to remain ignorant, we continue to manufacture our own apprehension.
Our walls of defense end up imprisoning us. We must crush those walls by realizing that life is neutral, and that it is we who cultivate and cling to erroneous fearful biases.
Like we’ve seen before, we can use one of our tools for preparing ourselves for a closer relationship with our Savior, meditation, and ask Him to shed light on our meaningless fears. Then, we can fortify a new fearlessness by meditating on the word of God that promises He has our back:
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” Is. 43:5 NLT
“I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” Jn. 14:27 NLT
For He has rescued us and drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son… Col. 1:13 AMP
You are invulnerable in God through Christ. Look deeply at your fears. See them for the lies that they are. Replace those beliefs with new empowering convictions that will change how you are being, which will change your world.
The only place that fear lives is within you; but you can replace those fears by opening yourself up to the strength of God – who is Love itself:
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 1 Jn. 4:18 NLT
Just like what we must do to get to the bottom of all our problems, we must become aware of how we have been being and doing, and choose a different path.
We were masterful in the construction of our walls of defense. We cannot break them down with a simple frontal assault, because we built them to withstand that very strategy.
When you discover and neutralize your fears by identifying the false beliefs at their roots, you won’t have to hold up those walls ever again.
Look first to your Life Story – the birthplace of all your dread. Remember to slather yourself with kindness, love and compassion, without judgment, as you uncover all of your old shenanigans.
Take responsibility for your deleterious decisions and acts that you perpetrated in your old blind self, being vigorous in your inquiry into what motivated you to do so. Look for any truth in those motivations. Taking responsibility is not blaming, it’s about taking your power back from who or whatever you lent it to. Blaming makes you powerless. Responsibility keeps you free.
Once you nail down those falsehoods behind your heretofore unexamined beliefs, you’ll be able to uproot them and let them go, along with the rigid reality that you built around them. You know that reality; it’s the one you’ve exhausted yourself in, by defending it so that no one could make you wrong.
You can do this because you have God on your side:
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. 2 Tim. 1:7 CSB
It’s time to draw on that spirit…
FEAR BRINGS OPPORTUNITY. If we sit with it and watch our reactions, all the ways we run, we can visualize how we can do the opposite and set ourselves free. All it takes is the removal of the armor that we thought protected us.
Trust your heart to compassionately and lovingly see your through.
LIFE IS NOT SCARY. We make it scary because we are afraid of the unpredictability of life, and of our inability to control it.
WE ARE NOT SCARY. Yet, we believe that we are because of our conviction that we are flawed in ways that make us unacceptable to God and to other people.
Happiness will continue to be elusive as long as we cling to the ways that we do fear. Realize that our suffering is inseparable from the world’s suffering – especially if we are preoccupied with its ways.
Again, give yourself unconditional acceptance, love, forgiveness and compassion; and then give it to others. No more blame. Let go of the past and forget about the future.
Our lives only contain the problems that we say they have. Freedom from fear comes from being willing to let go of what we think we know, so that we can reinvent new possibilities in each moment.
Instead of being afraid, we can reframe our view of life to one that embraces this frenzied string of uncertainties that we call life – staying open to the wonder of the next surprise. And, if life was a flowing stream of surprises, why would you worry about problems when you could never plan for a solution? Guess what? LIFE IS THE SOLUTION!
We are all works in progress. So, there is no reason to create space for the unworkable notions of ‘shame’ and ‘embarrassment’ that births so many fears.
Knowing that life is unpredictable, it follows that our measure of time spent with others is unknowable. Doesn’t it then make sense to treasure everyone in every moment, instead of living with the fear of losing them, and to refrain from wasting that precious time in indulging in judgment and discordance?
We can choose love over fear, remaining fully engaged with those around us, seeing them as the temporal gift that they are when they are here, and as an eternal gift in our heart when they are not.
Commit to letting your guard down, letting your old self go, and to moving into the opportune space of your new home – fearlessness.
Every time we feel a fear arise, we can connect to God, through Christ, and meditate over what kind of strategy it is that we’ve evoked, to protect a wound that we haven’t yet brought to Jehovah’s light for healing.
We search for the meanings that we made about it that elicited our response and ask ourselves, ‘What else in life am I resisting in life with this same strategy?’ ‘What is it costing me?’ Then, we can change our thinking.
Life is what it is. It does what it does. No amount of fear will alter that. Fear is a tool that we create for resisting life, even though it is totally ineffective in doing so.
Anyone who leans on God need fear no more. Those who are fearless accept life and remain aware of all the self-made obstacles that have the potential to prevent them from living. Yet, they never entertain the notion that the obstacles are insurmountable. After all, they have the Creator of the Universe by their side:
The LORD is my light and my salvation – so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? Ps. 27:1 NLT
They no longer judge themselves or others, or brood over their mistakes. Should a blip occur, they look into why they committed it, drop any meanings that they made that motivated them, and jump vigorously back into the stream of life – fearlessly.
Goodnight and God Bless.