Phobia-free – Psalm 55:16

Wake Up Call

A phobia is a fear gone wild. It is wise and natural to be afraid of a grizzly bear in your campsite but a phobia is often irrational and debilitating. I’ve had a little experience with this. When I was a small child I was deathly afraid of balloons and we don’t know why.

My mother ended up using my fear to help protect me. As a toddler I often attempted to climb stairs when I was too small to do so safely. She’d sometimes place a balloon on a bottom step and it was a perfect deterrent. Gradually over time I was “de-sensitized” to balloons though to this day I don’t like to hear them pop.

Here’s the point: phobias CAN be overcome. If you have one, you don’t have to accept it as carved in stone. The first step toward that end may sound a little strange. You have to be willing to give up the fear of giving up the fear.

Oddly, people often subconsciously cling to a particular fear almost as a protective devise. They are afraid that if they give it up they will have to face it. While still in the grip of the phobia, that’s overwhelming.

If you have a phobia that is crippling your life, know that it is not God’s best for you. Don’t be afraid to give it up. Ask the Lord to lead you into complete freedom from your worst fears.

Today is a good day to begin. Start with this: “But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me” (Psalm 55:16-18).

 

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