Tonight is Halloween. It isn’t a day that our family “celebrates,” although many people enjoy dressing up in costumes and going to parties and on hay rides. At dusk, children across America will walk around their neighborhoods in costumes, ring doorbells, and say “Trick or Treat!” in hopes of getting bags full of candy.
Primarily Halloween’s theme is one of fear.
In our lives as Christians, we too struggle sometimes with fear, whether that fear is real or imagined. An example of an irrational fear would be a fear of the night, or perhaps more closely, fear of the dark. Night time is a fact of life and, in fact, was created by God.
“Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” – Genesis 1:3
It’s what is possibly IN the night or dark that could hurt or kill them which causes people to fear: the bogeyman, a monster, a ghost, BigFoot, Satan, or whatever creature of terror looms largely in their minds.
Fear breeds more fear. When we allow ourselves to be ruled by fear, it can take over our whole lives, stealing our peace and our joy. For example, a new mother may be terrified that her newborn baby’s cold will develop into life-threatening pneumonia, when the baby simple has a runny nose that only lasts a few days without serious effects.
Or a woman may fear that her “baby” – her business or her new product launch – may fail, that no one will come to her Facebook party, or that everyone will focus on the mistake she made in her video for that page.
Fear doesn’t come from God. He doesn’t want us afraid, because it’s the opposite of faith. Instead of a spirit of fear, He’s given us a spirit of love, power, and of sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
Fear takes away our power and weakens us. Fear can steal our big dreams. It can thwart our God-given purpose. It can immobilize us and keep us stuck, from moving forward into the wonderful destiny God has for us.
Like a fear of the dark, or the scary Frankenstein or monster plastic mask that children wear on Halloween night, it is not realistic, but it has real consequences in our lives: a delayed or stopped purpose. A destiny on hold. A dream that dies within us when we die, because we were too afraid to step out in faith.
I’ll be sharing about fear and its consequences – and how you can push past fear to achieve your dreams and succeed – in my workshop on November 5. Don’t let fear keep you from the big plan God has for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). Learn in this workshop to move past those fears that are trying to keep you from your greatness. Join us for an hour of encouragement and motivation November 5, at 11 a.m. CST. Click here to find out more info and secure your spot.
Image Resource: Image: zirconicusso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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