Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death. ~Author Unknown
I am not a brave person. I would like to be, I suppose, however whenever the... opportunity, for lack of a better word, has presented itself, I feel I have failed miserably. In addition, I have come to realize just how many fears I have lately and how much they prevail my thoughts. I really have not considered myself a fearful person previously, or maybe I was so angry it palliated my fears when I was younger...?Thinking of the opposite of fear, we tend to think of words like: bravery, courage, and boldness or even heroism. These are not true antonyms of fear, at least not that daily fear, which is more associated with worry. Fearless is a true antonym for fear, but what results in fearlessness? When we know the answer to this question, we know the true opposite of fear.
One answer is familiarity. I have always had a fear of heights, so I would never have attempted to climb and sit at the top of twelve foot ladder. However, it was required for me to do this because I have an even stronger desire to display my artistic endeavors, in this case, promotional decorations in a retail store where I worked for five years. Our store placed in nearly every one of those several contests each year, which means I was on the top of a ladder often enough to become familiar with it.
Another answer is faith. We worry and have fear only because we lack faith in the Lord. There is just nothing more to add to here.
Facing our fears is one way to learn to overcome them, but not the best way. As the quote above states, "Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death." Faith is not just believing in my Lord, but having a relationship, that is, being familiar with Him. There is nothing greater than my Lord, so there is nothing to fear other than Him, and yet my Lord gave people the message to not be afraid 365 times in the Bible. That is one time for each day in a year.
What is there to fear when my Lord says to not fear?
~ My Lord, forgive my faithlessness. Let me become more familiar with You and have fearlessness as only You can give. ~
