“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Christ has set me free. Today is one of those days I just want to scream it from the rooftops. But since I doubt my neighbors would appreciate that…I AM FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There. Not nearly as satisfying, but it will have to do.
I feel like God wants me to share how he has set me free. It is really an amazing story but I must admit I’m hesitant to share it because I don’t really want to show you the person I used to be. But, as much as I hate to show off my weaknesses, I know that through them you will see God’s power displayed.
You see, for so many years I was terribly afraid–afraid of just about everything. I was afraid of heights, riding bikes, dancing, needles, being alone, learning to drive, going to college, trying new foods, and public speaking just to name a few. For all those years I never realized how all of these fears hindered my relationship with the Lord. It got worse and worse until finally I experienced a sort of breakthrough. It happened two years ago while I was at camp. That was when I began a journey with the Lord–a journey of facing my fears. (If you want to read about this journey in an allegorical form then you should read Hind’s Feet on High Places. It is a wonderful book by Hannah Hurnard that just happens to parallel almost exactly the journey I went on with the Lord. I got to read it while I was on the journey and it was absolutely amazing how I could relate to it. I highly recommend it!)
The journey of facing your fears is not an easy one. I have heard people say that Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. And believe me fear does appear very very real. You must appreciate this fact before you can truly understand where I (or anyone else struggling with fear) am coming from. It does not matter how silly or unrealistic your fears may seem to someone else, they are still a harsh reality for you, a gripping force that dominates your life. However, this is not how we were created to live. If you let your fears control you life, your relationship with the Lord will inevitably suffer. If Christ is truly the Lord of your life, then he should not have to fight with your fears for control over it. But, as I’ve said, it is incredibly difficult for someone who is afraid to see reality. If it were not for the grace of God I would still be shackled to my fears wallowing in my own bondage. Praise God, that I’m not!
I really do give Him all the credit. For at least 16 years I was a slave to my fears without even fully realizing it. It is only by his power that I could ever begin to think of overcoming them. If you’ve seen the movie The Princess Diaries before then you probably recognize the quote “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” This bit of wisdom may come from a cheesy Disney movie (that I happen to like) but I have seen that it is true, at least in my life. It was when I was at camp that I first began to realize that my fears were a problem. My parents always warned me that holding onto my fears prevented me from trusting God but I naively disregarded this insight. It wasn’t until I read this verse that my fears truly came into perspective: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (I John 4:18).
Growing up, I was always terribly afraid of trying new foods. There was nothing I dreaded quite as much, nothing that would strike terror in my heart more so than a new food. I don’t know what it was that was so scary about it–maybe just the unknown–but whatever the reason it was something I struggled with continually until a few years ago. We always called it being a “picky eater” but it wasn’t so much that I was picky. Most of the foods that I “didn’t like” were foods I was simply too afraid to try. Actually there were very few foods I did like. As unbelievable as it seems, for 17 years I lived my life like this until God intervened. God convicted me of letting my fears rule my life and not letting His perfect love cast them out. God changed my heart and showed me how selfish I had been. I’m thankful to say that God has brought about a complete transformation in my life. I happy to say that I have been experiencing a lot of firsts in my life–like eating my first ever hamburger this past summer. As pathetic as I feel admitting these things to you, I even more overwhelmed by God’s gracious deliverance. This is just one example of the many fears the Lord has helped me to overcome.
The Lord desires to set us free. I want to encourage you to let His perfect love cast out your fears and rest securely in the freedom that comes from Christ alone!