“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, whom should I dread?” Psalm 27:1 CSB
When we were heading into Colorado on my birthday trip, we had to climb a mountain. We had been driving on flat land for the majority of the trip, but as we came out of New Mexico heading north, we started to climb. The elevation was 7,634 feet, over a mile and a half high, when we crossed the state line. As we were climbing, we started to come across these roads that looked like they ended. To me, the road ahead looked like we were driving off the edge of a cliff. I am not lying when I said I was gripped with panic. We were on the interstate, bright, sunny day, blue skies, dry road, the safest driving conditions you could get, yet I’m freaking out. Out of nowhere, this fear overcame me, I did not want to see what was on the other side of the hill, yet I could do nothing to stop it. I told my husband to slow down, I wanted to enjoy my last few minutes on earth. Do you know what was on the other side of that hill, nothing, just more road. My irrational fears gripped me, but God shed His light on them and revealed His truth.
Often our fears are irrational, a great article I found by Dr. Samantha Rodman talks about them. According to her, some people know their fears are irrational, like I did with the car ride, others don’t. The way to combat irrational fears is to think out what would happen if these thoughts came to fruition, and the likelihood they would actually happen. For instance, I knew the likelihood that we were driving off a cliff was very, very unlikely, yet I still panicked. The next step, according to Dr. Rodman is to face the irrational fear. I did because I had no other choice, I was a passenger, I wasn’t driving. Just like, when we give our lives to God and trust Him, we’re no longer driving, we’re the passenger. The part Dr. Rodman doesn’t address is the light God shines on our irrational fears. I also knew in that moment, I asked God that morning, as I do most, to take me where He wants me to go, have me meet who He wants me to meet. If we were driving off the edge of a cliff, that just meant that is where God wanted us to go. My faith in Him has reached that level. Dr. Rodman’s suggestions, with His peace, equals light on my fears.
We all have irrational fears. But they don’t have to control us, we can overcome them. If you’re not sure what your irrational fears are, ask God to reveal them to you. Once you identify them, think rationally about the reality and probability of whatever your fear is actually happening. Then shed God’s light on it as you face whatever fear it is. Ask Him for the strength to face it, ask Him to shed his light on it. When you do, you will be able to climb mountains, scale impossible distances and overcome any fear.
