Something About The Joy

My previous post talked about how to find peace in the middle of the mess of our lives, but it didn't really answer the "how to" part of the title! That post talks about the fear that drives us, especially in this anxious day and age, and claims that God does not mean for us to live in fear. This post will give you the promised 10 ways I have found to conquer fear in my life. Sometimes anxiety comes over us without an obvious reason. We have no idea why. Perhaps a little hint of a fear creeps into our thinking sideways, as an afterthought, or a quiet suggestion, and before we catch it and pluck it out, it has grown into an anxious worry. A while ago I struggled with an unexplainable cloud of anxiety and heaviness. I have no idea why. There was no logical reason for this disruption to my normal state of restful trust in a good God. My circumstances had not changed. And He had certainly not changed. I was well cared for, as usual. He had carried me through my whole ...

  The Bible tells us 365 times that we should not fear.   If you look you can find a different "Do Not Fear" verse for every day of the year!     Perhaps there's a reason for that.   Fear is rampant in our society.   This has been true in every age and culture, but it seems that today, because of our technological progress in the area of travel and communication, everywhere we look, reasons to fear literally stare us in the face.   On the news we are confronted with towering dangers, all over the world, many of which seem beyond the control of any human being or government. Politically, physically, financially, relationally--in every realm of our existence we see reasons to feel insecure and vulnerable.   If we're not feeling fear for ourselves, we're feeling it for those we love who are going through struggles we can't do anything about.     When we look around us, we have great reason to be overcome with anxiety.   ...