Saturday, January 14, 2017

Fear? What fear?



 could stand for fear if we let it.


Yesterday was my day to write something about the letter F. Initially the word that came to mind was the word FEAR. Ready to put pen to paper, I came across a quote from Marvin Gaye that caught my attention.  Marvin said that sin and fear go hand in hand.  Makes sense to me and after all who else would know this better than Marvin Gaye.

“Most fear stems from sin: to limit one’s sins assuredly limits one’s fear thereby bringing more peace to one’s spirit.” – Marvin Gaye, 1939 – 1984

As I started to write I got stuck. The words just wouldn’t flow. No matter how many stops and starts I had, the words were just not there. So I did what most writers do. I stopped altogether. Let it rest and moved on to something else.  After a good night’s sleep and some prayer I decided that what I really needed to do was to examine myself and my own fears.

As we age we all have those times when we fear that ache or pain may be something other than just that – an ache or pain. Our minds play tricks on us and tries to make us believe that it’s a tumor, a cancer, a catastrophic illness. I propose that this is a healthy fear because it can motivate you into action.  It can motivate you into making that lifestyle change you’ve been intending. Perhaps it is time to really start looking at your eating habits or your exercise regimen.  Healthy fear, not life stopping fear.

And while we are contemplating this time of life in this fear state, we may perhaps have a fear that one day we may end up being a burden to our loved ones. What is going to happen if for some reason we cannot care for ourselves.  What if we ultimately die? Who is going to take care our final wishes and expenses? Hmmm….  Again this should motivate one to plan and get into place these needs. Healthy fear not life stopping fear.

Examining my life I am asking myself what is that one thing that I fear most?  Do I even have fear?  Sorry, but not all of us are super saved. Fear lurks around in all of us. I just don’t give it room is grow in my life so that it will remain that healthy fear and not that life stopping fear.

The questions I am asking today are, as I reach this age, what are my expectations? How much am I relying on the kindness of strangers to come to my rescue. How much do I really trust God as a round this corner to the middle of my personal third chapter of life?

I have said it over and over again…stop looking for the magic.  Every one will eventually have to come to grips with the absolute truth that faith does move mountains and the Holy Ghost is real. The bible says that faith without works is dead. We all must come to final terms with the sin in our lives. That thing you have been lugging around year after year saying and lying to yourself that you are going to stop doing. Consider this, sins are also our bad habits, our procrastination, our anxieties, our anger and yes, even our way of handling disappointments. What work do we need to do to align ourselves up to the will of God?  How obedient are we to God really?

All of these things are sin. Sin is defined as a turning away from God and the focusing on self: making your own rules, going your own way, having your own thoughts, satisfying your own pleasures. Sin is having way too much ‘I’ in your eye.  Defining sin very loosely:  getting stuck on YOU opens the door to FEAR and fear is indeed the opposite of faith. Amen? Amen.




#soulwriter #whatithoughtwassojustaint  #gracefulaging #livingwithpride
Books by Debi Mason:
What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace
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Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)
ISBN-13: 978-0692236475
Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery
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ISBN-13: 9781606964880
Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak