Book Club Day 20: Secret Fears--and What to Do with Them

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In Your Book: Before we begin, please turn in your copy of Faith Deployed...Again to page 238 and read "Secret Fears" by Kathleen Edick. (If you don't have a book, don't go away! We'd love to have you join us for this discussion anyway!) This devotion and blog post fall under the "Blue Star Mom" category, but I'm sure military wives can also apply the truths found here. Now Let's Talk: Today's discussion is led by a special guest: international speaker and author Grace Fox. What thoughts come to mind when you read the word storm? I recall scenes from my growing up years on the Alberta prairie when wintery white-out blizzards forced school cancellations and made driving nearly impossible. I also think about windstorms we experienced while living on an island off the coast of British Columbia. One brought wild winds that felled trees and knocked out electricity for five days. Not all storms are weather-related, however. One definition is “a violent outburst or disturbance.” Unfortunately, this type occurs anywhere and at anytime. Perhaps you’ve experienced this type of disturbance. It blows in with a phone call in the middle of the night. Or when the doctor says your mammogram is abnormal. Or when your child becomes deathly ill, or your spouse or child heads overseas into dangerous active duty. What happens? The winds howl. The waves threaten to sink our little boat. And fear grabs and paralyzes us. Our stomachs tie in knots, our nerves turn into a jittery mess, and we wonder if we’ll ever have a decent night’s sleep again. So, how can we guard ourselves from being blown away by an outburst of this nature? Here are five practical tips:

• Tell God how you feel.1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.” So go ahead, take Him up on His invitation and pour out your heart to Him. It’s okay to vent; He can take it. And besides, He already knows your thoughts.
• Tell a trusted girlfriend how you feel. Ask her to pray for you. Ask her to pray withyou as well. Holding a private prayer meeting can be as simple as praying over the phone together for a few minutes once a week. I guarantee you’ll find encouragement knowing you’re not alone.
• Fill your home with praise and worship music.Focusing on fearful circumstances will undo you. But focusing on the character of God will strengthen your heart and calm your anxious thoughts as you remember that He is bigger than any storm you’ll ever encounter. Besides that, He is faithful. He is wise. He is love, and He will never leave you.
• Fill your mind with the truth. The enemy wants to discourage you and keep you paralyzed by fear. But you can fight back by writing Scripture promises on recipe cards and posting them where you’ll see them often – on your fridge, on the bathroom mirror, near your computer monitor, and even on your car’s dashboard. Check out this site for free downloadable Bible verses and several articles about overcoming fear.
• Develop a thankful heart. Easier said than done, right? Right, but the effort is so worthwhile. Philippians 4:6,7 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Do you want peace? Then start thanking God for His presence with you and for giving everything you need to survive the storm. Storms happen, and they can paralyze us with fear. Thankfully, that need not be the case. My prayer for you, my friend, is that you will not only survive, but thrive in those storms because God is with you. Discuss: Which of the five suggestions above do you already do to keep your fears at bay? Which one will you try the next time fear threatens to paralyze you?