The One About Running Toward the Roar of Fear...and a way to #bebrave

Everywhere I turn, I am face-to-face with fear-talk.

The title of the message at church last Sunday...

Instead of asking why I am just one more additional voice to the already very large group of writers, singers, podcast presenters, sermon-givers, and meme makers....I simply figure I'm heading in the right direction. There must be a need, and who knows (?), maybe someone won't see or hear their work, but will cross paths with mine.

from Hillsong's "Not Today"

So, here I am this morning, with another random thought on fear, anxiety, worry, discouragement and living #bebrave.

A story is coming...

But first:

What have I learned so far?

#bebrave is more than possible. It is absolutely attainable.

To #bebrave doesn't mean fear and anxiety are eliminated.

(Surprised by this? Truly - fear will never go away. Why? because we are human.)

#bebrave means moving toward the thing I fear, facing it, and learning how to manage it, regardless of how I feel.

...to #bebrave...I have to remind myself of a few fear-conquering-strategies and have them in place before the ugliness of it all catches up to me.

Some of those strategies include...
1) Growing in knowledge of God and CELEBRATING the character of Him who is ever-present in my life (in Christianese this is called praise).

When I do this - the bigness of my problem minimizes and I see the enormity of my God instead.

He really is bigger than all my fear!

Indeed, John was right when he wrote:

And...

Perfect LOVE (that's God)...

2) Learning to pray: strategic, specific, DESPERATE prayer...

This quote (not mine) became a mantra:

the path to peace is paved with prayer... 

...but not just any casual, generic cry of "help(!)," will do..I must seek after what I want just as in desperation one might seek out a palm reader, or a tarot card specialist...

3) Recognizing how easy it is to store up fear, gathering it for another day, simply because I think I can control my fears and worries by doing so.

However, when I begin storing up fears instead of facing them, it shows exactly what I treasure in my heart.

Fears are great indicators of those things I value; and, there is an element of greed to much of what I fear.

Thus, I need to clear out my barns of a few idols... (The Lord is always willing to help, because this is a HARD JOB.)

XXXXX

With that little bit of review, the story I promised.

It's a story about lions (learned way back when I lived in Africa).

Male lions look good.

They are far prettier than the females with their long flowing manes.

Male lions sound ferocious.

Their roar is loud (and can be heard, I'm told, up to five miles away) and frightening. If you're in the near vicinity, you have fair warning.

Male lions are regal.

There's a reason they are called "The King of the Jungle."

They possess a proud and kingly attitude that permeates their character.

But male lions aren't really all that...

Truth be told, male lions are lazy.

They far prefer to lay around, look good, roar loudly, and let the female lions do all the work (aka: the hunt).

A female lion will lie in wait in the tall savannah grasses.

She waits until prey is in sight.

With a nod, or possibly a wave of her tail (some believe this is how she communicates), the male will do his part and roar loudly.

The prey will run away from the roar...generally straight toward the female, who is waiting for the take down....and certain death.

Then, the female waits for her meal, until the male has eaten first.

This is also a story about fear.

Let the male lion represent our fear.

It roars loudly.

It is life dominating.

It confuses and paralyzes, then causes us to run for our lives, simply because we want to get rid of it as fast as possible.

And, just like the prey mentioned above, we run straight for the greatest danger.

Instead, the only way to a life of #bebrave is to turn toward the roar.

Face fear.

Move toward it.

Listen to it.

All fear speaks.

What is it saying?

What does it tell me about me?

What does it tell me about my relationship to the Lord?

What can I learn about the fear itself...and what God has to say about it in His word?

The more I gain perspective, the less I have to fear...and the easier it is to #bebrave.

To run away is to run to certain spiritual demise.

We can't out run fear.

The more we run, the more there is to fear, because fear will always be right behind us...

Ed Welch says the following in his little bible study, "When I Am Afraid."

"Fear is the perfect problem.  No doubt, it can be paralyzing and painful. When it comes, your goal is to get rid of it immediately. By its very nature fear tells you to run rather than to face whatever is causing it. But fear is ideal in this: God reserves His most persuasive, beautiful, and comforting words for fearful people. Listen. Really listen. For when you hear His beautiful and comforting words that surpass everything you can imagine, you will do something. You will be led to action."

This is what I learned about #bebrave this week:

Face fear's roar, and in the midst of it, listen for the still small voice of a shepherd who wants to protect His sheep from the lion who seeks to devour.

And when I hear His voice, I will find strength for my soul, renewed energy for what I have to face, and a way to #bebrave.