Fear Fires

 Since I was a little girl, one of the most common things I experienced was fear. Fear of the dark, fear of being alone, fear of punishment. It still creeps up more than I care to admit; fear of bad stuff happening to my kids, fear of the unknown, fear of change. Fear has a way of shaping our thoughts, altering our decision making, and eclipsing our faith. As much as I hate to admit it, fear has played a role in the times that I should have spoken up about something but didn't. I've let fear damage my relationships to the point where I've lost friendships. I've even let fear hijack my mouth when parenting my kids. It's like a fire that can cause great damage, and spreads quickly. How many times has a teensy fear spread like wildfire until I'm completely paralyzed? Too many to count. And sometimes, the damage is so great that I don't know how God could rebuild. Thankfully, His ability to rebuild triumphs over any destruction caused by those fearful fires. What do we do when we see a fear fire pop up? Do we try to stop it, or do we allow it to etch a devastating path in our minds, dreams, and relationships? 

One of the first fire safety tips I learned taught me what to do if my clothes ever caught on fire. Do you remember learning "Stop, Drop and Roll?" Thankfully, I've never had my clothes catch on fire, but maybe this tip can be repurposed into what we can do when we're afraid.

STOP.

The tendency I have is to let fear run its course until the "fire" is so big that it's nearly impossible to put out. I'll use a real life fear that I have to show you how it happens inside my head. If I am snippy with the kids, it looks like this:

Snippy with the kids ---> emotional wounds are caused ---> they'll never forgive me ---> they'll grow up deficient in love ---> they'll have unhealthy relationships ---> they'll end up in counseling ---> or jail ---> or worse

Sad, isn't it? Now although those things could potentially happen (I did carry them to extremes), I'm letting things that haven't even happened steal my joy as if they were really happening. It's true that me being snippy could hurt the kids, but if I focus on the fear, I can't have vision for how to course correct in the here and now. So when fear fires start, the best thing to do is stop.

Stop the fear in its tracks by refusing a chain of fears to be perpetuated. Stop, and capture the thought.

We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

To every fear that lights up, yell "Freeze! Halt! Stop in the name of the law!" Is that fear something that would come from the heart of the One who wants to give you peace, joy, and wholeness? No. And in the case of my example fear, the solution can be as simple as me humbly apologizing. Then God can do something amazing like turn my Mom fail into a lesson for the kids to know what to do when they hurt someone, and show them that He is there to heal their hearts. He's good like that.

DROP. 

This is the opposite of the fight or flight response. Sometimes fear makes me fight; fight with the joy and peace that are trying to rule my heart. Sometimes fear makes me run; run from opportunities. But what I should do is drop; drop to my knees and give my fear to God. After all, He's the one whose shoulders are big enough to carry everything that's weighing me down. Prayer is like a fire hose that shoots water on hungry flames. Because the focus shifts from "how am I going to get through this fear?" to "God, You are big enough to handle this fear." 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6

When fear rears up its fiery head, drop to your knees (or drop what you're doing or thinking) and pray. Let worry be the fire alarm that a fear is blazing, and let prayer be the immediate action you take. This fear may be bigger than your scope of knowledge, but it's not bigger than God's. And in faith, thank Him for taking care of the matter, and taking care of you.

ROLL.

Rolling smothers out the flames by depriving them of oxygen; without oxygen, a fire goes out. Rolling around in God's goodness deprives fear of the power that it has to overshadow every good thing we have been given. It's hard to focus on ourselves when we are getting swallowed up into the goodness of God. 

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? Psalm 27:1

With the focusing of our minds on the power and majesty of God, the tables are turned. We no longer are cowering at the unchecked inferno of our fears, we are bowing at the greatness of God. Suddenly the power that fear once had is extinguished, and it is no more. If God is for us, who (or what) can be against us? There are shadows of the unknown, but God is light. There are hidden dangers, but God is our way, truth, and life. 

Stop. Drop. Roll. And give fear a reason to turn tail and run.