The Concept of Fear

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Last Sunday, I heard a very timely message. It was the special monthly young adult service at my church, and it was about one central theme: FEAR. And how most of our spiritual (and also, other) struggles are rooted in that most unpleasant concept.

So true!

When I started to think about the things I struggle with, it became apparent (and I sort of already knew this too) that I have a lot of fear in the relationship department.

I mean, my personality type is INFJ, so I’m naturally reserved as it is. Pile on top of that a lot of other life circumstances, and I find myself both hungering for more/deeper relationships with people, and at the same time shying away from them. Because: A) It’s so much easier to stick with the relationships I already have/people who already know me well; and/or B) There’s that stubborn part of me that just doesn’t want to let people in, lest they have to see (and put up with) all my flaws and various issues; and/or C) I’m pretty sure there’s a C, but it’s not coming to me at the moment.

And dear Reader, I know I’m not alone in this. I think each of us has some sort of “fear/shame factor” that causes us to, in varying degrees, shy away from having closer relationships with friends and family members.

Obviously, there is a lot at stake here. 1st: God didn’t put me or anyone else here to be isolated. He wants us to be in close relationship with Him, and also with each other! 2nd: To live a life devoid of real love and emotional intimacy is no life at all, which brings us back to the 1st point, that God intends us to have real fellowship with one another.

This is such a deep and important topic, and I’m sure I’ll be revisiting it in the future, not to mention spending the coming years of my life learning to let go of that fear. Comments welcome!

PHOTO CREDIT: Snow Storm photo courtesy of lovetoday on Free Images.