Fear Sucks

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"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid."

Psalm 56:3-4, ESV

Fear sucks joy.

Fear sucks peace.

Fear sucks sleep.

Fear sucks energy

Fear...sucks.

I should know, I practically wrote the book on nonsensical fears and molehill obsessions. Squirrel is good for me. While he has many (many!) of his own fears, it helps that our fears our different. When he is panicking over the leaf blower, I speak comfort to him. When I am afraid of a snake, he is calm.

...at least until I run away at a speed that breaks the sound barrier. Then he gets a little amped. But not because of the snake.

Following Jesus doesn't instantly mean all fears go away, but it does provide the beautiful understanding that nothing is outside of God's control. I may be surprised by what happens tomorrow, but God knows, and He has already provided a way through.

I've been hit with some pretty large bills of late between my house and my car. It's been overwhelming, and I've been tempted to fear each time I wrote a sizable check.

Yes, I still write checks. Don't judge me.

Each step of the way, however, God has provided. A small work bonus. A friend who helped turn an expensive professional repair into a DIY one. A tax refund.

Not enough to get rich off of, but enough to provide for each situation. My daily bread.

I can't imagine facing these types of situations without God to turn to. I have no pride in this and will happily admit my lack of self-sufficiency. If that makes God my "crutch," as the accusation goes, praise the Lord this cripple has a way of walking through the world!

With God by our side, we don't have to fear things the way we would without Him, from hurts in our personal life, to the reality show-worthy news on CNN.

As I mentioned above, Squirrel has a whole lot of fears. EXCEPT for the vacuum. Isn't every dog supposed to be afraid of the vacuum? And my boy couldn't care less! I have to make him move to clean the carpets.

I guess he knows that though it roars loudly, it won't hurt him.

Life roars even louder, but, with God, it can't hurt the things that really matter. Oh, life can still bring pain. But our love, acceptance, and salvation by the King of the World is certain. Nothing can suck those things away.

(Get it? "Suck?" Because we're talking about vacuums...you know what, never mind.)