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Black Hole of
Fear |
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by Mark Stevens, author of God is a Saleman
© and reprinted by permission from The B & B Media Group
I
Hear It Every Day of My Life.
"I am afraid."
People tell me they are afraid of losing money. Of getting sick.
Of being misunderstood. Of shooting too high. Of shooting too low.
Of breaking some kind of social code someone at Harvard invented.
Of being disliked. Of taking a risk. Of doing what society frowns
at.
What they are really saying in so many
words is that they are afraid of life. And once this fear
is allowed to fester, once it is left unchecked, once it
qualifies for all manner of justification, it sucks its
victims into a black hole. In John 14 Jesus addresses fear.
He simply says “I am leaving you with a gift – peace
of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like
the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or
afraid.” (New Living Translation)
If we let it, fear mushrooms and life diminishes. It is a miserable
syndrome. It is paralyzing. It leaves its marks frozen in a compromised
place, hostage to what everyone else wants but detached from the
experiences, the journey, they really want to take.
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Fear makes millions, even billions,
their own worst enemy. Their heart says fly me away to
this beautiful vision that stands before me. Let me take
it by its outstretched hand and soar to a place I know
will be exhilarating, magnificent, rewarding, challenging,
intoxicating, delicious. The hand is honest and pure and
true and loving and willing to reach out over and over
again, but the coupling never occurs.
Fear strikes. Fear stops. Fear freezes
the momentum in its tracks. The person who needs to be safe,
to pass the acid test of acceptability imposed by anonymous
crowds, to walk the beaten path, to do the traditional thing,
to insure against failure, says "No" to the dangerous
liaison, the high risk project, the change in direction,
the road the priests of false morality seek to bar from passage
(for all but themselves.)
Paradoxically, fear prevails when in truth there is nothing
in life to fear. There is nothing in death to fear. Fear
is the enemy of life. If one has faith in God, if one simply
identifies the few genuine truths and passions in their lives
and pursues them with zest and courage, well that is the
definition of a life well lived.
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Replace Fear with Faith
The universal aspiration should be to
replace fear with faith. There are so many rich things
you can do with your life that have zero guarantee of success
but which you must jump into like a child cannon balling
into a summer pond.
Your career.
Your romance.
Your friendships.
Your time alone.
Your time with many.
All must be conducted with a determination to live in faith as God
created us to. To fully cultivate the gift of life, to take the chances,
to embrace the risks, to put the standard setters, the paper prophets,
back in their boxes and to busy themselves with others. Jesus says
His peace is greater that that of the world and I believe Him. I
have experienced it, have you? It is right here for the taking.
You Can Live a Life of Faith
Begin now. You will not fear. You will pick your goals, decide
when to act, walk the high wire, and care nothing at all when
the fear mongers chasten you. You will go to that special place
where people achieve and experience the exceptional. You will
never again look back and say I let it get away out of fear.
Psalm 34:4 states “I prayed to the Lord, and He answered
me, freeing me from all my fears.” (New Living Translation)
You will not fear. You see the black hole. It is not for you.
Step out and live with faith.
God gives us life and there is too much life to live.
This used with permission of The B& B Media
Group (www.tbbmedia.com)
along
with credit to Mark Stevens, God Is A Salesman 2008
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Scripture taken from the Holy
Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved
throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for the offering
of goods or services requires the prior written consent of International
Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All rights
reserved.
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JOHN 14:27
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"Peace
I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to
you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid. "
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(NIV)
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