What Does Fear Give You? {Day 13}

A page is turning with our series. Thus far we have set the stage for defining fear and looking at the ways it shows up in our everyday life. As we approach the second half of the month we will focus on having a vision for freedom and practices that we can incorporate to fight off responding in fear.

In Renovation of the Heart, Putting on the Character of Christ, Dallas Willard uses the acronym VIM to describe the general pattern through which change happens. VIM stands for Vision, Intention and Means.  He says

“if we are concerned about our own spiritual formation, the vision of the kingdom (of God) is the place we must start. What we are aiming for in this vision is to live fully in the kingdom of God and as fully as possible now and here, not just hereafter. It is a vision that has to be given to humanity by God himself.”

In the next few days, let’s camp on the Vision part of VIM.

“The only thing worse than being blind, is having sight and no vision.”  Helen Keller

Vision is important. It propels us. It gives us the why behind wanting to change.  It is needed to believe there is more than the status quo.

To get us thinking about it, I want to go through the back door by asking:

What does fear give us?

What do we think will be the result of acting, or not acting from a place of being afraid?

Is it protection from being hurt? Is it way to not feel pain? Is it to be hidden?

This story from Daring Greatly has stayed with me:

A man in his early sixties told me, “I used to think the best way to go through life was to expect the worst. That way, if it happened, you were prepared, and if it didn’t happen, you were pleasantly surprised. Then I was in a car accident and my wife was killed. Needless to say, expecting the worst didn’t prepare me at all. And worse, I still grieve for all of those wonderful moments we shared and that I didn’t fully enjoy.”

Expecting the worst didn’t prepare me at all. I still grieve for the moments I didn’t fully enjoy. Worry and fear did not come through.

I believe in all of us there is a level of belief that fear is going to serve us somehow. It may not be rational and we may know it to not be true. But when we make our decisions from that fear, we are hoping for it to protect or provide or satisfy.

I invite you to spend some time reflecting on the question from above- what does fear give you? And to follow that, what is your vision for fear?  Where does fear fall short?

If/when we see that fear can’t fulfill its promises, how can that set you up for a vision of freedom?

PS There are indeed times that fear offers us something valuable. To not touch a hot stove, to warn of potential danger, etc. But as for most of our series, we are diving into the fears that paralyze or prevent us from being who we are created to be.

I am participating in Write 31 Days. Click right here to see all the amazing topics!  I am writing on 31 Beauty Full Days.  You can read the intro post here.  And you can also always click on the button on the sidebar to see all posts in the series.