The Fear of Monsters and What If's

Luke is afraid of monsters that live in his closet.

Every night before he gets into bed, we check the closet to see if there are monsters; and we remind him that 1) monsters are not real and 2) mommy and daddy will always keep him safe.

Last Monday night, Luke crept down to our bedroom at 4 o'clock a.m. and claimed that a monster was using the potty in his bathroom.

This was a very real scenario to him, so even though mommy and daddy knew the monsters were not, in fact, using his potty, we let him snuggle up between us in our bed.

Although his little 3 year old fears seem so silly to his 31 year old mother, I have to ask myself about my own scaredy-cat fears.

I am bombarded at times by fears:

What happens if I don't meet my producton goals at work this year?

What happens if I don't make Partner?

Just how financially secure are we?

What if my husband were to lose his job?

What happens if I don't close another deal for the rest of the year?

All of these fears (though huge in my mind) must seem ludicrous to my faithful heavenly Father. They are simple-minded compared to the provision of a Mighty God. I do know this in my head, but how do I move this knowledge to my heart?

I have created a little project for myself (by the prompting of a certain Holy Spirit). This "project" came from my quiet time on Saturday morning....after asking God how to put the feet of my revelations to the pavement of my life.

I was studying Psalms 34, and though I couldn't come up with a cutesy way to structure it (i.e. the Five F's to Freedom from Fear), I did come up with three steps that I will take when tempted to cling to my fears. Finding three steps really made me proud because I felt like my Baptist preacher father, who gives a 3-point sermon no less than 52 weeks a year.

When a fear bounces into the my thought closet, I will:

1) PRAISE the LORD - because when I am praising Him, there is no room for fears.

"My soul will boast in the Lord;

let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the Lord with me;

let us exalt His name together."

Psalm 34:2-3

I will praise the Lord for His deliverance from anxiety. For His great love that saves me from the pit of despairing worry. For His blood that has purchased my pardon. I will lift up the Name that is above all names.....because my fears are unfounded when I rest in the shadow of His wings. The God who engineered the rotational axis of planet Earth can most assuredly handle my little life.

2) LOOK UP.

"I sought the Lord and He answered me;

He delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to Him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame."

Psalm 34:45

Instead of looking all around me to figure out my own method of deliverance (which, really, how many times have my anxiety-driven solutions worked?), I will look up into the face of the One who has faithfully delivered in the past. Is my Father not the God who parted the Red Sea on behalf of my spiritual ancestors? Is He not the One who raised Jesus from the dead? How small my own fears are in light of the true dangers in this world. And although I am tempted to stop this post right now as I think about the poverty across the world (and how silly my own petty fears are in comparison), I am still typing because I know God cares. Looking up instead of around is necessary if we want to give our fears to Someone capable of giving us peace in exchange.

3) REST in the promise of His deliverance.

"A righteous man may have many troubles,

but the Lord delivers him from them all."

Psalm 34:19

I will have trials and troubles as long as I live on this earth, but I can use my fears as an opportunity to seek the Lord.

Luke knows where he can run in the middle of the night if he hears monsters in his closet.

......and I know where I can run when those monster-like fears show up in my mind's closet.....

To the safety and comfort and salvation of the One who is bigger than all boogey-men.