The Fears You Don’t Face

I read a quote that I loved today (or maybe the quote read me:)

“The fears you don’t face become your walls.”

-Robin Sharma

I am easily shut in by fear – I’ve been dealing with it all of my adult life. I’ve tried praying it away, rebuking it away, denying it exists and berating myself into bravery.  None of that had any long-lasting impact.  What has – and continues to work miracles in my life  – is a little trick I learned a few years ago.

In every scary situation when I feel fear closing in on every side, I ask myself: Where/what is the door? Sometimes it’s an honest conversation. Sometimes it’s a visit to a doctor. Sometimes it’s an appointment with my therapist. Often, it’s a finding a piece of truth about the love of God that has gotten pushed to the background of my life. But there is always a door – and the thing is, the door almost always feels scary too. So I usually have to get to the place where the fear of staying locked up is more intimidating than the fear of taking the next right step to get free.

Do you feel stuck in a suffocating  room of fear today?  Maybe start with this question: Where is the door? Where is the truth that will set you free?  All of my experience in those dark spaces makes me certain of this: Our great God will lead the way to your liberation and give you the courage to follow. I can’t wait to see who you become on the other side of that beautiful, dangerous door.

With hope,

Bo