Fear is its Name

Call it what it is. It’s called Fear.

We know how to identify it because we know the feeling. We know the anxiety and dread. We are familiar with the regret it causes. Yes, we know our fear well.

It’s the resolution to our fear where we sometimes get foggy. So let’s call out the root problem clearly and accurately so we can assign the correct fix. Let’s give ourselves a better shot at peace by applying a helpful solution to the correct problem.

If we call our fear nervousness, we will get frustrated when breathing exercises and hours of preparation don’t help. If we call our fear fatigue, we will wrongly expect to gain courage just by taking nap. We’re all hesitant to admit when we’re afraid because it can make us feel immature or weak. But until we get real clear on what the real issue is, we won’t be able to get rid of that uneasy feeling.

Often, talking to someone about our heaviest concerns is helpful. Hearing our own words can have a significant impact on our understanding.

Maybe the thing that drives our fear is rooted in some dysfunction we haven’t even identified yet. Maybe our fear is rooted in not knowing what we don’t know.

It’s never a bad idea to ask God to make clear the various facets of the struggles in our lives. We can ask him to break it down so we can understand it. And then we can expect him to lovingly help us fix it.