Day 2 on this journey to #bebrave was just a little bit “clinical.”
No interesting stories.
Just facts about emotions…targeting fear.
We’re going to look a little deeper into the emotion of fear (which is, undoubtedly, the most intense emotion of all the “feels”).
Today, however, we’ll examine fear through the eyes of someone else: Eve.
Dear, dear Eve.
When we think of Eve, we think “original sin”…as well we should.
Eve stepped into her disobedience already a little bit “primed,” taking Adam by the hand right alongside her.
Have you ever stopped to think what led to that sin?
Oh, I know, that cunning serpent had a lot to do with it.
But, let’s pretend for a minute that Eve is having coffee with us.
Let’s ask her to tell her story…what might she say?
(I’ve not actually spoken with Eve, but knowing how much of her DNA was passed on to me, I can vividly imagine how this conversation might go…).
Eve’s Story:
I woke up in Paradise. Literal Paradise. You simply can’t imagine… It was truly GLORIOUS!
As I opened my eyes, the first face I beheld was that of the ALMIGHTY, having just blown life’s breath into me.
I closed my eyes, re-opened them, and there “he” was…love at first sight!
Together, Adam and I enjoyed the best the Garden had to offer…
All was GOOD…and,
…Time of fellowship with the Father intimate and sweet (I loved His laugh, most of all)…
I felt so safe in Paradise.
SO FREE….
Well, except for that ONE RULE.
We had to stay away from this one tree; and, not partake of its fruit.
Right here is where all the trouble began.
I began thinking to myself…
“What is the Lord God withholding from us?
What if He just doesn’t want us to enjoy everything the Garden has to offer for selfish reasons?
Why would He want us missing out on something more?
What if this fruit is better than any other in the Garden?
Is God really good?
Why is He trying to control us?”
With the thoughts came something I had not experienced….
Before the questions, I could only describe myself as “content.”
Now, I felt….sad….sad that God was holding out on me….
Doubtful….was God really who He told us He was?
Fearful…suddenly, the Garden didn’t feel safe anymore; no longer “perfect;” no longer “Paradise”… …with God holding out on us, what if He began taking away other things?
And, there it began…the journey to disobedience:
Sadness over “scarcity”, led to doubt, doubt led to fear, and fear led to discontentment…
All that thinking led to unhealthy, unprocessed emotions, and this was the final conclusion:
I was missing out on “so much more…”
And, the serpent knew exactly what was unfolding as he eavesdropped on conversations with Adam, and watched as our intimacy with the Almighty began to wane…
You know the rest of the story….
You know the path of action I took…and, the shame and regret that followed…
He sacrificed to cover our sin and shame.
He made a way for life, where there should have been death…
And, He reminded us, we’d always be the apple of His eye…
A few more thoughts on fear:
1) Fear always starts when we start “thinking to ourselves” instead of speaking truth to ourselves…
2) It’s an age old question, what comes first fear? or doubt? Doesn’t really matter, one almost always leads to the other, especially when it is God we’re doubting…
3) Fear often rises its ugly head when two things are an issue: my inability to control a situation, and a mindset of scarcity lives in my head.
What is the answer???
I can think of two things that have been helpful for me…
When tempted to fear when there is a situation I cannot control, I confess my selfish-heart that wants things “my way,” actively pursue doing the things that I can control, then, like Jesus surrender to the Father with a simple, “Thy Will Be Done…”
When tempted to fear out of a scarcity mindset, I turn to gratitude. Once I begin to see clearly all I am blessed with, scarcity takes a back seat. Because I have so much, generosity moves to the drivers seat. This kind of fear can’t live in the same heart filled with gratitude and generosity. There’s just no room!
