“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Carrie Ten Boom
Whatever your religious or spiritual beliefs, I believe that what we all have in common is the belief that there is something greater than us that exists. Something that is Light and Love, and breeds the Good in our world. Whatever you choose to call it, I call it God. I am not a religious leader of any kind, but I hope that my thoughts about using faith to overcome fear, can be helpful in some way.
There is no doubt that this is a very difficult and bleak time for our world. The more people I talk to and work with, the more I can see and feel that people are suffering. Some through illness, others through loss of loved ones. There is stress about livelihood, concern for our economy, issues of social justice, a tense political climate, natural disasters, and many other things. There is no one that this Pandemic has not impacted in some way. If it has only been a minor inconvenience to you, you should feel incredibly blessed because there is suffering beyond words, suffering that some people can only imagine.
In times when so much is out of our control, fear and anxiety tend to be a natural reaction. Fear is a natural part of the human experience. While we may fear many things, more times than not, our ultimate fear is of dying. But perhaps it is true when they say that we should be equally as afraid of never really living. The choices we make, they can be Divinely Guided because we have full faith, or we can allow ourselves to be stifled by our fears and find it hard to navigate through the world, or worse yet, never really reach our fullest potential and truly live the life we were meant for.
I believe that Faith and fear are like oil and water. They can exist in the same place, there can be more of one than the other, but they never mix. When you have true Faith, there is no room for fear. True Faith is when you leap or risk fully knowing that there is a Divine net there to catch you. You feel peace, your spirit is shining, and there is a calm that takes over. But that does not mean that you do not have to do your part. I often have conversations with people who think if they pray for what they want, that is all they need to do and they should get it. We always need to do our part. For example, if I am taking a test, I can not just pray to pass it, not study, and then get mad when I fail it. I need to do as much as I can to get what I want. We should study for the test, pray that God walks with us, and trust that no matter what happens, we will be okay. What we want is not always what the Divine plan is. Sometimes we need to fail in order to learn or grow, or even be forced to take another direction altogether. I always recommend praying for God’s Will and then asking for guidance to get through whatever that may be.
I often hear people questioning what they must have done to have something bad happen. I personally do not believe that God punishes people. I really think the poem Footprints in the Sand (author unknown) explains this concept beautifully. God does not promise that we will not face hardship, only that we will be carried and guided when we do. We have free will. We make choices and sometimes, really bad things happen to really good people. Even innocent children. But even when we feel our lowest, if we stop and look around, there are blessings. Does pain or fear stop you from finding the blessings that are right in front of you?
Action item: Stop for a moment and think about all the ways you have allowed fear to stop you, affect you, or even take over and stop you in your tracks. Sometimes, we even sabotage ourselves with fear. Are you able to recognize the ways you do this to yourself?
Now find a quiet place to get centered. Sit in nature if you can, get out your journal, and let the words flow. Ask for God’s guidance and write down your blessings. Remember that it is the small things that can matter the most. If you are fearful about something or are having an endless stream of catastrophic thoughts, write them down. Ask yourself if there is any action you can take to remedy the situation. If there is, make a plan and take action, and ask for God to walk with you. If there isn’t, recognize that it is out of your control and ask God to take it. For children, I recommend getting an old shoebox, decorating it as a “God Box” and then when they have a fear they can write it down and put it in the box for God to take for them.
True Faith is reaching for God in our good and bad times, whether we are getting what we want or not. As much as there is suffering right now, we need to have faith and trust that God is all around us, carrying us through…
*The aforementioned statements are my opinions and do not adhere to any specific religion