Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Irrational Fears


My youngest daughter is afraid of flies. Although she has an aversion to all creepy crawlies, from bugs to spiders, to ants and caterpillars, she is most afraid of flies. If she sees one in the house, peace is shattered, screams commence, and she runs to the shelter of my arms or her mother’s arms, depending on who is in closer proximity to her.

If you’ve never tried to explain why they shouldn’t be afraid to an almost two-year-old, then you’ve never really had your patience tested. It doesn’t matter how many times her mother and I insist that there is nothing to be afraid of, or how many times we show her how to shoo away the fly, all she knows is that they scare her, and the only place she feels safe when she sees one is in our arms.

Sooner or later this fear will pass. As she grows, she will realize that flies really are nothing to be afraid of, but until that time comes all we can do is consistently remind her, and show her the truth of it. Because we are the parents, we react differently than she does, and eventually she will begin to make the connection. She will begin to see that there is no reason to fear. If she has the same reaction when she is twenty years old as she does when she is twenty months old, then we will have a problem to be sure.

Even though our heavenly Father has repeatedly told us not to be afraid, some of us still are. We harbor irrational fears regarding things we have no control over, and if we fail to consistently return to the Word and be reminded that we have nothing to fear, we spiral, growing all the more agitated, until we are robbed of peace and joy in our lives.

From giant solar flares to the reversal of earth’s magnetic field, to global epidemics, to gamma-ray bursts, to rogue black holes, to the tried and true asteroid impact, these are just the natural disasters that can snuff out human existence as we know it. Once we get into all the man-made ways it the end can come such as nuclear war or random acts of violence, we quickly realize that just as the flies my daughter is afraid of, there’s just too many to count. If we gave in to fear every time, we’d all wind up in a dark corner, sucking our thumbs, never leaving our homes, waiting for the end of the world.

Yes, it can get overwhelming sometimes, and that’s when we just need a hug from Dad, but as we grow, as we mature past the stage of spiritual infancy, we do away with these irrational fears, and come to understand that the only power they have over us is the power we are willing to assign to them. They’re just flies!

So am I overly concerned about a rogue asteroid, or other such things? No, because I’m not Bruce Willis, this isn’t a motion picture, and there is nothing I can do to affect it even if it were a reality. Before we give in to fear regarding things we can’t control before we allow these things to consume our time and rob us of our peace, may we remember that there is shelter in our Father’s arms. Come what may, His will is the best possible place where you can find yourself, and it is in that fellowship, that intimacy, that knowledge that He can protect you from the flies, or the asteroids, that you will rediscover peace. 

With love in Christ, 
Michael Boldea Jr.

1 comment:

Bonnie said...

My friend and her husband were in their home when it was hit by a tornado... they had an escape route with "go bags" at the ready, but were unable to get to that exit. They had no time to reach the "safe room" they planned to retreat to, and hunkered down in a hallway, praying that He would keep them safe. When the storm passed and they emerged, they soon realized what an awesome God we serve - the only part of the roof that remained attached was the section directly above the hallway!

Lesson learned? Our God will protect us right were we are (as long as we are depending on Him :-)