I’ve learned something today: when doubts and fears start hailing on you, don’t open the window. Plug your ears and go curl up next to some cozy fire in your soul, but whatever you do, don’t lift the latch and let the window swing open. Not unless you want the fury of hell raging through your mind and heart. Doubt not, fear not. It’s that simple.
Besides, the Lord doesn’t speak to us through doubts or fears. That’s just not how he does it. If the Lord wants to tell us something, it’s going to be through the peaceful, calm touch of the Spirit, not through a panicky sense of despair. But if you let those doubts and fears in, you’ll forget that. If you listen to your fears, a shroud of darkness will cover you, and dreadful things that aren’t real will seem tangible and inevitable. And then it’s hard to tell what’s true and what’s not. It’s really hard.
Doubts will grip you and shake you till you can’t tell up from down. Don’t listen to them. Don’t let them get to you. Cast not away therefore thy confidence, but instead live by faith and by every word that proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
If you do accidentally open the door and let in the storm of doubts and fears, get ready to go through hell. And remember Winston Churchill’s words: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Focus on Christ, because he’s the only way to burn away the deceptions so you can get through to what’s real.
And yes, I know all of this from (very) recent personal experience. Sigh. (That’s a sigh for having opened the window in the first place. I’m grateful now that I’ve found peace again. Whew.)
Comments
Very nicely put. Glad to here your not suffering any more. :)
By the way, I am also very glad that you stuff is licensed under a Creative Commons. I think I could really use your analogy and insights for a talk someday. :D
I tend to take a slightly different approach to doubts and fears. I believe they have a noble purpose and can in fact be very helpful to us. For me the trick is to go meta and examine the fear as a harmless object. So rather than hide from the fear or give in to the fear, ask yourself why it came, where it came from, and what it might be trying to teach you.
Remember Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” If we keep our minds on the present (not unlike or separate from focusing on Christ) and avoid envisioning the horrible future our fears present to us than we can learn a valuable lesson without endangering our hearts. For example, if we apply it to relationship fears, they might be telling us that we have issues with the loss of our former life (being single and unattached). Realizing this allows us to process the meaning of the transition and move forward with faith and confidence.
It is good to have faith, but remember that there is valuable knowledge to be gleaned from examining the sources of our fears.
When Chad and I got engaged I had so many fears (I was 18, I didn’t know him, etc.), until we opened out scriptures and rediscovered Helamen 5:12 and 47. Throughout the whole chapter is speaks of peace. It is hard to remember the Lord’s form of communication sometimes. But if the Lord didn’t want me in that relationship He would have told me to leave it with a peaceful feeling. Just because you conquered the fear now doesn’t mean it won’t come back, keep walking.
. . . :(
Chad: Thanks! :)
Tristin: Good points. I think the important thing is being in control of the fears, rather than the other way round.
Maggie: Thanks! Those are great scriptures. :) And I agree, the fears keep trying to come back, but you’re right, the Lord isn’t going to use fear to get to me.
e: ?
Throw in your two cents