Despite the Fear

Due to my absence in Africa, I've enlisted the help of Jonathan @Fishingforideas for a guest post. He was gracious enough to provide his take on the subject of courage...

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Everyone’s afraid of something. Be it what others think of you, what your future holds, or even how you’re going to do on chemistry finals, fear is always there to take a hold of you. It’s ready to wrap you in its vise before you can think twice.

That brings up a good question, though. Is it okay to be afraid?

And I would say, absolutely. Think of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. He was so afraid and anxious that he sweated drops of blood. If our perfect and sinless Savior was afraid, then I think it’s safe to say that being afraid is okay.

But as Christians, what’s not okay is when we let our fear control our actions. What’s not okay is when our fear becomes so strong and powerful that we can’t summon the courage to do what God wants us to do.  What’s not okay is when our fear becomes more influential in our life than God.

When Jesus was in the garden the night He was crucified, sure He was afraid! I think we’d all agree that we would be afraid also if we were in that situation. But the point is: He trusted in His Father so much, that He was able to overcome His fear and accomplish God’s will.

And that’s a beautiful picture of what we as Christians should do when we’re afraid. We can take our cares to God, trusting in Him always. Drawing strength from Him.

And then, even if you’re still afraid, that’s where you find the courage to step up and do what God’s calling you to do.

Because the point isn’t sucking it up and being brave. The point is trusting in God despite your fear, and stepping out in faith that He will use you how He wants. Because God might not always take away your fear. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that Jesus was afraid when he went to the cross. He didn’t want to be beaten and scourged and hung on a cross to die. But He chose to trust in the Father even though he was afraid.

And that’s when God can use you. When you’re so in tune with His will, that your fear takes a backseat. Sure, you might still be afraid, but when you’re confident that God has a plan through it all, your fear suddenly doesn’t seem to matter very much anymore.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is, even when you face fear, you can always cling to faith.

And act in that faith according to His will, despite the fear.