Do you suffer from nightmares? Are you afraid to fly? Do you find yourself worrying all the time? Are you afraid of death? If you're like me, there may be something gnawing inside your head that could be fear-based. I thought about this while on a pilgrimage to Ireland. The bus driver shared stories about Ireland's past and present. It seems that the Irish have almost always had good reason to be afraid. They suffered fear of religious persecution from their British kings next door to the Emerald Isle. They lost all their food in a potato famine. They lost their land when the English kicked them out of their homes. Now they are dealing with skyrocketing electric bills that they may not be able to afford.
Take a moment and ponder what may be causing you to lose sleep. Make a list of all your fears. Once you're done, consider which fear is the most challenging. I'm going to share how I keep my fears in check hoping that this may help you reduce your stress levels.
The first time my wife and I sat next to each other on a flight she squeezed my hand so hard my knuckles turned white during takeoff. She overcame her fear of flying by doing the very thing that made her afraid...flying. She graduated from this fear by flying across the Atlantic to visit Ireland. No alcohol. No anxiety pills. Not even hand holding as we were seated on opposite sides of the plane.
My top way to fight fear is to recognize there is an almighty Creator who loves us so much that when we believe and follow this Creator there's really nothing to fear, not even death. Why? Because I believe there's something after we are laid to rest. It's eternal life.
If you happen to be a believer and you aren't living your life properly, maybe you're afraid of eternity in Hell. That's a legitimate fear. If you're looking for a solution, don't blow your opportunity to be in Heaven forever because you haven't turned your life over to God. Follow Jesus, love others, and you're all set. No worries.
If you made it this far in the story, I'm sharing a bonus with you today. It's my biggest fear – judgement day. Why am I afraid of this day? Because I believe my job here is to share all the good that Jesus is doing in my life to help you turn to him. Yesterday I shared in my sheep story that Jesus leaves the other 99 to find the lost one. Godincidently, that is the message our pastor shared yesterday in my house of worship. How does Jesus find the one who is lost? It's a mystery. I have a gut feeling that my role is to assist with the gathering of the lost sheep. Here's the fear: I'm in front of Jesus and we're reviewing my life on earth. Things seem to be going okay. I turned my life over to him. I worshiped regularly. No false gods. Confession when I got off track.Then Jesus does this silent pause during the examination. He looks around as if to find someone standing next to me but you're not with me. So, Jesus asks, "Where's (insert your name here)?
Gulp. I blew it! Maybe I didn't put enough of my heart into my stories about Jesus. Perhaps I got too carried away with what's going on in the world and didn't spend enough time sharing about how Jesus can help you with anything when you follow him, like taking ALL your fears away.
Maybe you can help me eliminate my worst fear. Tell me, "Michael, stop worrying. I'm in." The last pointer I have is for you to check out the Bible. Fear is mentioned 365 times. That's one idea a day inspired by Heaven to help you have a maximized life. If you don't mind, please share this story with a friend or two. Have a great day.
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