What value is fear in your life? Is it a hindrance or a help?

Question

Ask yourself if fear is really useful. I find that concern is important but fear holds me back from doing what I should and what I can. I can fear things that may or may not happen but that does not keep anything from happening. How can you and I let go of fear and trust in our God or Creator?(Or for atheists How to just let go of unproductive fear?)
Peace Be With You,
Debra

Answer 1

Excellent question. My biggest fear and its pervasive is that some accident will befall my children if I am not with them. I have this control freakish nature in that regard because I don't trust other people to be careful or watchful with my kids. They are still very young. With my son its choking (he's still a toddler) and with my daughter it is wondering off or injesting something poisonous. I am easier if I leave them someone at my house cuz the place is so child proof but I hate taking them to other peoples houses and having them be babysat. I worry constantly even if they are with their own Dad sometimes. My oldest was never babysat even one time until she was 2 and half and that was one day while I was in the hospital having my son. Ya see...pretty paranoid. Yet I know that these kids are blessings to me from God and they belonged to God first..so I have to learn to let go and to trust Him and others. I force myself to overcome it. Yet I replay these accounts over and over in my head so perhaps it is some sort of mental illness that is so subtle...the other day my husband was bringing items in from the car and left the front door open and my son was on the bottom step of the deck...we live next to a busy intersection and I could just see it plain as day his little body getting plowed over by a car. My husband got his *** chewed. I know I'm overprotective..and I think part of that fear comes from my own childhood..another story. How much can we control with our fear and isn't that like turning our back on God and relying on ourselves..I see kids all the time off on their own with parents that suck outragiously and yet they live. I don't know what my deal is. Love in Christ, ~J~ <><

Answer 2

Fear is both a hindrance and a help.

In my worst, depressed times, I thought of suicide. I'm glad that God has put the fear of death in me...or I would have done it.

We are to fear God because he is Holy and perfect. I am to have a reverant fear of him...He isn't someone to "high-five". He isn't my buddy. He is the Almighty, the Creator of the Universe.

On the other hand, I often find myself thinking about and worrying about lots of things. Most of the time, this type of fear is useless. I have lost sleep over conversations that I need to have with people. I toss and turn thinking about how I would respond if they bring up this and that....and when I finally have the conversation...it is never what I prepared myself for over a lost night of sleep.

It has happened enough that now I just remind myself to trust God. Go to sleep...it will work out.

Answer 3

my husband gets aggrevated with me all the time b/c I am afraid of EVERYTHING....he thinks I need a shrink! For instance.... I'm not afraid of storms...I'm afraid of the POSSIBLE damage (tornado)....I'm not afraid of heights, I'm afraid of falling....I'm not afraid of driving, I'm afraid of wrecking....There are a lot of others, but the point is...I'm afraid of the POSSIBILITY....of what MIGHT happen....the "what if's".....to the point of having occasional panic attacks.....but, I don't neccessarily always avoid doing things where something MIGHT happen....I just proceed with extreme caution...more caution than most people...i.e. I might go to the grand canyon...but I'll be damned if I walk up to the edge or ride on a donkey through the trails....I haven't always been that way, so I don't really understand it. I was fearless as a teenager, and I don't have any kids....go figure! I don't really know how to "get over it" or deal with it...I pretty much do whatever I want, and just push through the fear (hoping it will help me get over it), and then later on that day or the next day I will, all of the sudden, out of the blue, I will have a panic attack, and imagine the "worst case scenario" of the previous activity. And it's not like I am thinking about it when this happens....I could be in the middle of something else, perfectly safe, and it just HITS! I guess I have turned into a "worrier."

Answer 4

Hi, Debra, thanks for the points, I forgot to thank you on the actual question.

Bravery is defined as overcoming fear, it is not the absence of fear. We overcome fear when our motivation to do so is greater than the fear.

Fear is the most common "emotion" shared by all animals.

You cannot "let it go," you must overcome it. Don't let it bother you, just accept it and move forward.

Answer 5

If our only fear would be fear itself, we could accomplish great and mighty things!

God and I are always a majority!

Answer 6

if you have chlidren watch them closely.........the really young ones...........watch how they are so trusting of adults, of how no matter what they do they know mom will catch them. My son used to literally dive into my arms at various times while I wasnt looking, it was a chore to make sure I always caught him. I think on that, and remember thats how much I should trust my heavenly Father.

Answer 7

Fear is productive, in a way. It can motivate us to succeed, or even try.