I wear a bracelet on my right wrist that is light blue with black lettering. On it contains two simple words that serve as a powerful reminder: "Be Fearless." I've got a genetic predisposition for anxiety and depression, which thankfully has been suppressed through prayer and dependence on God, but can still be debilitating on an extremely bad day. I used to have days where I just wouldn't even bother getting off my couch, choosing comfort rather than facing the day. I knew that was no way to live, which is why I realigned my approach to life. Plans have gone out the window, much to the chagrin of some, and I choose to force myself into situations that make me rather uncomfortable to serve as a reminder to rely on God and not myself. Going to St. John for a month where I knew nobody upon arrival, spending Christmas in Germany with minimal knowledge of the language and my brother being the only other person I know who speaks English, and moving to Charlotte, NC, the beginning of next year, are just a few examples of how I have and plan on stretching my faith in order to live fearlessly. 2 Timothy 1:7 serves as a powerful reminder to not live in fear. In that verse, Paul wrote, "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self control."My job as a Christian is to live a life full of love, not fear. I recently had the opportunity to listen to Christine Caine preach a message at Elevation Church in North Carolina and she spoke briefly on the topic of fear. As she put it, "Fear cripples you and you atrophy and pull back." She emphasized how we all need to avoid shrinking in Spirit due to fear because that hinders our ability to acknowledge and serve God. Every time we allow fear to win us over, we are doubting God's ability to work through us. This essentially limits God and encloses Him in a box. Instead of confining God, we should trust Him to grow us in every situation. When we're scared and fear makes something appear impossible, we must believe that God can see us through. It's an essential step to living without fear.
As I grow closer to God, my spirit of timidity slowly fades away. Dependence in Him allows me to flourish into the person I was created to be and live the life I was meant to live. Over the years I've had to unlearn a few ideas that were implanted into my brain out of fear. It's been a process, but slowly I'm being bolder in my love for others. A simple comment that a friend made to me has stuck with me and served as a catalyst to reach out to others. There's nothing wrong with being thoughtful. How simple, yet how freeing that statement is! Too often I find myself second guessing my kindness out of the fear of how it's perceived by others. The song "Fix My Eyes" by For King & Country comes to mind. This song is about desiring to go back in time and better serve God. At the top of the list of things to be done differently is, "Love like I'm not scared." How beautiful life here on Earth would be if we all chose to focus on loving without fear!
The best way to combat fear when it creeps in is turning back to Scripture for definitive answers. 1 John 4:18 clearly states, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." So the next time you struggle to live fearlessly in love, focus on that verse and keep in mind that fear and love cannot coexist. And always remember there's nothing wrong with being thoughtful.
