Fear & Freedom

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “-Isaiah 41:10

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”-President Ronald Reagan

Freedom, whether we are talking about freedom in this country, or in our spiritual life, can not exist with fear.  Only one can ultimately triumph.

Fear is a sneaky emotion.  It wells up in us before we even realize it.  We worry about our children, about our finances, about the health of those we love.  And although it can help to realize there is a limit to what we can do on our own and bring the rest, in Jesus’ Name, to our Father God, we still worry…

But fear can only triumph if we act upon it or let it consume us.  When we give up our freedom to Follow Jesus.  When we give in to behaviors that are of this world-but not of God.  When we give up our faith in Jesus for a more “comfortable” life.  That is when fear triumphs!

Instead, we need to let the Holy Spirit triumph in us ?

We are “in this world”, but “we are not of it”.  When we feel afraid, we need to call upon the Holy Spirit.  As the movie says, “don’t give in and don’t give up”!