Fear or Fearless

Some of the videos and posts I’ve seen (including perhaps some of my own), as heart-wrenching and real they are, have been posted out of this crazy fear regardless of whether the individual realizes it or not. Perhaps it’s the fear that we have no control over a life that we most certainly thought we did. Perhaps it’s the fear that comes from loving others and the frustration that those individuals are NOT listening or taking this pandemic seriously. Perhaps it’s the fear of dying. 

These are all legitimate fears and we are free to feel everything that is being thrown at us right now or at any moment, but hear me out. There is a healthy version of fear and on the flip side, an unhealthy one. Feeling fear is neither abnormal or a sign of weakness. BUT, the way we leverage that fear, especially upon one another significantly impacts each person and in turn, the world. I’m talking about living in chronic fear. This has nothing to do with the pandemic we are currently amidst, no, this chronic fear would have been a part of your life and would have directed your decisions and actions long before the word COVID-19 ever came into existence. The threat of this virus has perhaps only intensified that fear. The thing about living in chronic fear is that it is damaging. Not only physically but emotionally and spiritually. I came across this article below which was very eye opening to me. 

Impact of chronic fear

Living under constant threat has serious health consequences. 

1. Physical health.  Fear weakens our immune system and can cause cardiovascular damage, gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome, and decreased fertility.  It can lead to accelerated ageing and even premature death.
2. Memory.  Fear can impair formation of long-term memories and cause damage to certain parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus. This can make it even more difficult to regulate fear and can leave a person anxious most of the time. To someone in chronic fear, the world looks scary and their memories confirm that.
3. Brain processing and reactivity.  Fear can interrupt processes in our brains that allow us to regulate emotions, read non-verbal cues and other information presented to us, reflect before acting, and act ethically. This impacts our thinking and decision-making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions. All of these effects can leave us unable to act appropriately.
4. Mental health.  Other consequences of long-term fear include fatigue, clinical depression, and PSTD.

So whether threats to our security are real or perceived, they impact our mental and physical wellbeing.

https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/impact-fear-and-anxiety

That all being said, I would love for you to take a breath (or a few, because really, one is just not enough), check in with your heart and mind, clear it and ask yourself "how am I doing?" "Am I living amidst this chronic fear and allowing it to consume me?" Ask yourself, "why am I posting this video or article?" Are you posting because you are scared that if you don’t, something might happen? As if the fate of the world solely depends on you? That is an honest response and a damn good one at that but if that’s how you answered, I can assure you, you are no saviour. There is only one Savior and His name is, Jesus Christ.

This is not a “come to Jesus, I want to save your soul because the world is ending” message. Heck no, for one...the world is not ending, not even close, and secondly, I really dislike the delivery of those messages. Those messages, handed out in extreme fear can dilute the true message, which is the simple and unfathomable fact of acknowledging you are loved. Loved by something greater and being able to choose that love in return, not because you hypothetically may or may not die. We shouldn’t have to feel forced into any sort of relationship, certainly not a spiritual one.

So, if you are going to post, post in peace. Post in education (look it up, cross verify), post in confidence. But ultimately, post in love. We will not defeat COVID-19 because of scary videos or threats to each other. No we will defeat COVID-19 because we LOVE each other. We are self-isolating not for ourselves, but for our sister, our brother, our mother, our father, grandmother, neighbor, or heaven forbid, a stranger we’ve never met. Ultimately, we will beat this virus because in Heaven, it’s has already lost the fight. God has already won the victory. The battle has been won. You guys, that is the truth!! Whether you want to believe it or not, Christian or atheist, your “belief” in what has already happened or perhaps, lack their of, will not affect the trajectory of COVID-19. What we NEED to focus on is bringing that manifestation of victory, in which has already happened in Heaven and allowing it to pierce like a knife, ignited in flames, to Earth. 

Matthew 6:10 quotes, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is heaven.” That’s not just a great poetic thought. That is reality. And it is our job to call upon that, not by our begging but by our declaring. Be bold people. Be brave. No hero, prior or in our lifetime, achieved anything great by succumbing to his fears or questions of “what if’s.”. No, the hero’s we know in life got to where they were because they stepped out, fearlessly. It wasn’t because of the lack of fear they had, it was that they knew how to leverage and be in control of that fear.

In all of this, my main message and what I hope sinks deep into your heart and soul is that: “You are loved, you are brave. You do not have to fear a second more because you have been given a spirit of peace and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Regardless of whether you have a faith in Christ or not, you can and ARE making a difference. You are full of love. Your message to the world matters exponentially not because of the fear surrounding it, perhaps tainted by your own insecurities and trauma. No, it matters because God is calling you to be fearless, to leverage your message out of love. The kind of love that is unconditional and which started and will end through Jesus, who is in all and covers all!”

Love you ALL! More than you know.

I will leave you with a video and song called, "The Blessing," performed by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes. I have been declaring this truth over myself, my family and over the world. May you not only receive this blessing but would you walk in it, and would you be fearless and bold in declaring this message as well.