I was afraid that my dear friends would be upset with me because I hadn’t planned well. I had too many things in my brain and on my calendar. I missed out on a wonderful opportunity to spend time with people I care about. I was feeling some fear and sadness. I tried to breathe into it and allow myself to just feel the feelings. Then I turned my full attention to my husband and how I might contribute to his well-being. Giving care and love to my husband booted the fear and sadness out of my brain.
What is the opposite of fear?
The opposite of fear is faith and love, or maybe faith in love, God’s love.
The New Testament says: “God is love”. (see 1 John 4)
Faith and love come from God. Even a small disconnect from Him reduces our feelings of faith and love. The more disconnected we are from Him the more fear we will have. Having our brains too full of “stuff” causes a disconnect, either small or large, because there is less room for God in our brains.
What would happen if we chose to give our whole selves to Him. I mean all of us, holding absolutely nothing back. What if we invite Him into every part of our world. There is nothing to hide because He already knows what is there.
What would it look like to fully invite Him in?
— Invite Him into our sleep
— Invite Him into our exercise
— Invite Him into our meals
— Invite Him into our conversations
— Invite Him into our homes
— Invite Him into our to-do lists
— Invite Him into our driving time
— Invite Him into our recreation
— Invite Him into our reading material
— Invite Him into our music
— Invite Him into our facebook posts
— Invite Him into our thoughts
— Invite Him into our emotions
— Invite Him into our actions
We don’t need to be afraid to invite Him into every corner of our lives. He knows there is a lot of clean up to do and a lot of growth to be had. He wants to help us and He believes in us. He is ready and waiting for us to invite Him in. He knows how to tend our fearful and angry feelings. He knows our specific nutrition and exercise needs. He knows which items on our to-do list will serve us best. If we invite Him into our conversations He will be able to show us how He feels about others. He wants to radiate His love to them through us.
We can crowd out fear by choosing to fill our whole being with God and His love. Being filled with His love is less a matter of trying harder and harder to be perfect and more a matter of choosing to invite Him into every part of our lives. He will do the perfecting if we choose to let Him in and choose to listen to Him.
Let Him in. Listen to Him.