What Are You Afraid Of?

Hey Kids, It’s Mama! 

Happy Monday, kids! 

Listen, something has been on Mama’s heart a lot lately, and if you read my last blog post, you probably know where this post is going. 

The Lord has been really dealing with my heart about trust. He’s been showing me different areas in my life that I  need to work on my trust muscle some more, if you will. And look, if you’ve ever had your trust broken, you understand that it is no easy feat. 

But, as I talked about in my last post, when we place our trust in the right things, or in this case, the right Person, we are never let down. 

I would like to expand upon this idea a little bit more and say that when we place our trust in Jesus, we don’t have to be afraid. 

Again, easier said than done, I know. But just go with me here for a minute. 

1. What are we afraid of? 

If we’re honest, we have a hard time trusting that everything will work out for us, don’t we? Maybe we placed our trust in a job that was supposed to bring us financial security. We felt safe because we knew our bills would be paid and we would be taken care of. But what happens when we lose the job? What then? Who do we trust? What do we trust? Our security blanket is gone. 

So, that’s when we trust God. 

Again, I know, easier said than done. 

You’re probably thinking, “Yeah, that’s all well and good, Mama! But I have bills coming due and no way to pay them.” 

And you have every right to feel some anxiety about this, absolutely. However, let me submit a different approach to you. 

Do you know what the Word of God says? In Matthew 6:25-27, Jesus is in the middle of delivering his most famous sermon, known as The Sermon on the Mount. He’s telling his disciples and all who were gathered to listen not to worry about anything. The scripture reads: 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? 

My favorite part of this scripture is the part where Jesus tells his disciples to “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap… and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” 

Birds don’t worry about where their next meal comes from. They just know it will be provided. They don’t worry themselves ragged about how to make ends meet. They just know they will be taken care of. And if God will make sure the birds are taken care of, won’t He also make sure we are really taken care of? 

The Lord reminded me of this scripture a few years ago when the whole world had been shut down by COVID. I was a nervous wreck all the time in those days. I was worried to death about getting sick and unwittingly passing a germ to my family or dying or being hospitalized or… you know… etc. etc. 

Anyways, one night when I was praying and in a fit of anxiety, the Holy Spirit nudged my heart a little bit and He said, “If I will take care of the birds of the sky, won’t I also take care of you?” 

This made me stop and think for a moment. Well, yes, you will take care of me because you love me. You love me more than the birds in the sky so you certainly will take care of me. 

My point in saying all of this is God doesn’t want us to worry; He just wants us to to trust Him. Even when we are so afraid of the possible outcomes or the new reality we may be faced with. And let’s be honest, that’s hard. 

2. “Don’t Worry About Anything” 

Did you know God did not create us to worry? Did you know He created us to rely completely on Him for all our needs? 

How do we do that? 

By building a relationship with Him based on trust. 

In Philippians 4:6-7, we are told: 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

“Present your requests to God.” That’s all we have to do. We just have to call on the name of Jesus and tell our heavenly Father, who already told us He would take care of us like He takes care of the birds. But we present our requests to God when we have an open dialogue with Him and build a relationship with Him. The best way to have a healthy relationship in any situation is to communicate, right? 

Our relationship with God is no different. We have to talk to Him and be honest with Him about our fears and our anxieties, and then we have to let them go. We have to learn to just release them into His hands because we can trust Him, and then we can have the “peace that surpasses all understanding.” 

This is a supernatural peace. A peace that makes others envy you because how can you be so calm in the middle of a recession? I don’t know. All I know is that God’s got me and I know that no matter what happens, it will be for my good and His glory (Romans 8:28). 

3. “The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation” 

To really drive this point home, I want to point out a scripture in Psalms that has really been my anthem for a while. In my scariest moments, I just think of this scripture, and I repeat it to myself over and over. 

In Psalms 27, David writes: 

The Lord is my light and my salvation—

    whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

    of whom shall I be afraid? 

“Whom shall I be afraid?” Maybe we should look at it as “What shall I be afraid?” 

The answer is nothing. 

There is nothing that can happen to us in this life that we have to fear. 

Sure, we are human, and we do have fear and things to be afraid of. But when we place our trust in the One Who promises to be right by our side no matter what, and He has a great track record of showing up time and time again, there’s not much we have to be afraid of. 

God promises us from the beginning of Genesis all the way to the end of Revelation that He will “fight for [us]; [we] need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14). We don’t even have to fight our own battles. Our Dad will fight for us. 

Does that not bring you just the most comfort and calm to your spirit? It does mine. 

Kids, I say all this to say, don’t be afraid. Don’t let anxiety rule your life. Give all of your cares and worries over to the One Who will give you peace for your souls. He is trustworthy, and He loves you. 

I hope this blessed y’all as much to read as it blessed me writing it. 

Mama loves y’all!