Julian was afraid, so afraid. He didn’t know what to do, where to turn. He was too embarrassed to let anybody know how fearful he was. It wasn’t any one thing. The entire atmosphere got to him. It seemed to Julian that things were at a breaking point. Everyone was angry looking for someone to blame, someone on whom to take out their anger. Julian said to himself, “As a Christian, I should not be afraid, but when you are afraid, what do you do?”
You see, Jesus often told people do not be afraid. How do you admit when you are afraid? Will God be angry that you are fearful?
Here is a tip. When you are afraid, pray. Here are three aspects to praying when you are afraid.
When You Are Afraid, Admit it
When you pray, remember that God already knows everything about you. You can’t fool God. Admit to yourself and God that you afraid. That’s the first step. When you bring things into the open you are putting them out for God’s help. To do otherwise is to fool yourself that God doesn’t know. It’s to deny yourself help. It’s also to allow the fear to fester and get worse.
When You Are Afraid, Hold it Up to God’s Light
Before God, examine it. Be still and allow God to show you the root of your fear. Often your fear goes deeper than what you feel on the surface. What you tell yourself you’re afraid of is but a symptom of a deeper fear that can go as far back as a childhood experience. Tell God what you’re afraid of now and ask God to show you where it is coming from. It could also be that there is a present situation that is anxiety and fear producing. Hold this up to God’s light alos.
When You Are Afraid, Receive God’s Love
God loves you with and without your fear. Now that you have admitted your fear and allowed God’s light to shine on it, allow God’s love to enfold you. Put down your defenses and feel the love God has for you. Know that God is with you always. In the beauty of God’s love, ask God to take away the fear and give you the grace and strength to trust God in any and every situation; to give you the grace and strength to live through all situations. Then hear again the words that you can never hear too often:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37–39).
Get Closer to God and Live with Confidence and Peace
Photo credit: marcisim / of Pixabay.com
