“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
~ Elinor Roosevelt
JOSHUA 16-18
3So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
LUKE 5:1-16
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
JOURNAL
God's command is to go and do, from the Israelites taking possession of the land to Peter dropping his nets and catching fish. God is first about faith but then about action. Peter shirks back initially out of shame and fear. Jesus rebukes this in telling him not to be afraid. For fear and shame tend to keep us from following God fully with joy and confidence.
I have found in life that those two demons (fear and shame) haunt me more than any other. From what I understand about our brains and psychology. These two have a way of haunting us because they are rooted in our primitive brain and can be traced back to some of our earliest memories. They typically put us into fight, flight or freeze mode. When that happens we don't think rationally because our brain is telling us that we are in danger and must do something to fix the situation NOW...however the more we are able to stay in these "scary" moments and face them, the more we are able to allow these moments to pass and we can actually begin to conquer them.
The command to "not fear" is used over 100 times in the Bible. I don't think this means that we are to avoid the feeling or to suppress it...it means that we are not to allow it to control us. We are to wade through it, face it and ultimately conquer it..
I comparing this to my 3 rules...it could not be more relevant. Being a part of a team and working to help that team win is a critical component in conquering fear. Secondly it is a moment by moment challenge and thirdly, you have to let go of the grip it has on the past and the future. In order to turn on my full effort, I have to let go, and turn it loose.
I have found in life that those two demons (fear and shame) haunt me more than any other. From what I understand about our brains and psychology. These two have a way of haunting us because they are rooted in our primitive brain and can be traced back to some of our earliest memories. They typically put us into fight, flight or freeze mode. When that happens we don't think rationally because our brain is telling us that we are in danger and must do something to fix the situation NOW...however the more we are able to stay in these "scary" moments and face them, the more we are able to allow these moments to pass and we can actually begin to conquer them.
The command to "not fear" is used over 100 times in the Bible. I don't think this means that we are to avoid the feeling or to suppress it...it means that we are not to allow it to control us. We are to wade through it, face it and ultimately conquer it..
I comparing this to my 3 rules...it could not be more relevant. Being a part of a team and working to help that team win is a critical component in conquering fear. Secondly it is a moment by moment challenge and thirdly, you have to let go of the grip it has on the past and the future. In order to turn on my full effort, I have to let go, and turn it loose.
Psalm 23:4
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