Overcoming Fear and Building the Kingdom of God
Some years ago, I read the book The Borrowers by Mary Norton to my children and was struck by the words on page nine:
“…my brother said that, underneath, he thought they were frightened. It was because they were frightened, he thought, that they had grown so small. Each generation had become smaller and smaller, and more and more hidden.”
We in this generation have been called to be the opposite of small and fearful. We have been called to stand tall and be courageous. In one memorable gathering of families, we were encouraged to be multi-generational covenant-keeping families; to be faithful; obedient; full of action; to teach and to serve⎯in essence, to be filled with courage, focus, and determination as, together, we build the Kingdom of God.
Ours is meant to be a rising generation, not a hidden one.
Reflecting on that experience, I was reminded of my slippers⎯the right slipper in perfect condition, the left with a hole in the toe.
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Overcoming Fear
Brokenness
I’ve realized that I’m a lot like my slippers⎯one half in good shape, the other half broken. You see, I walk a little funny with my left foot. The holes in my slippers and shoes are evidence of this. New shoes hide the problem temporarily, but it’s not long before the leather on the tip of the toe on my left shoe starts to give way. I try to adjust the way I walk, to prevent my toe from popping through, but it’s never done any good; the hole eventually makes its appearance. Some weaknesses just can’t be hidden⎯I walk a little funny.
Since it’s not socially acceptable to walk around with a hole in the toe of your shoe or slipper, I always rush out to buy a new pair. I look forward to the first few weeks when the pair is in good shape, with no sign of any brokenness.
Fear
Switching gears for a moment: I’m incredibly motivated by rewards. I was reminded of this while listening to a woman named Jennie Allen share a story about her son’s star chart. On the days he gets a star, he feels happy. On bad days, where there are no stickers, he feels so ashamed. He wants nothing more than to be enough.
One of my biggest weaknesses is that I allow myself to be paralyzed by fear. A favorite writer/speaker of mine recently shared that after speaking at a conference last year, she went back to her hotel room and cried for hours. Then she called her husband and tried to convince him to buy her a plane ticket home so she wouldn’t have to go back to the conference. Satan was trying to convince her that she should stick with being a cheerleader. Boy, can I relate! Every once in a while I shut myself off from the outside world in every conceivable way. Why? Because Satan is whispering, “Who are you to try to go out and make a difference? You should stick with being a cheerleader.” Sometimes I fear he’s right.
President Howard W. Hunter, a modern day prophet, once said,
“Fear…is a principle weapon in the arsenal which Satan uses to make mankind unhappy. He who fears loses strength for the combat of life in the fight against evil. Therefore the power of the evil one always tries to generate fear in human hearts.”
Knowing Who’s You Are
Jesus walked in grace and peace as he fulfilled his mission. He wasn’t anxious and worried. He leaned into his people. He looked them in the eyes.
The disciples were markedly more like me: they had their hidden weaknesses, they pretended to be more than they were, they fought for approval, they competed for power. Something in these men was striving to measure up. Just a bunch of simple men and a very, very perfect One. Passover night, Jesus tied a towel around his waist and prepared to show, not just tell, the disciples that he would cleanse the dirt from their feet and from their lives. Jesus wiped the dirt off of these men’s feet, men who were still trying to measure up. There is power⎯and tremendous freedom⎯in knowing who you are⎯and Who’s you are⎯as Jesus did.
President Hunter continued,
“As children of God and descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob we must seek to dispel fear from among people. A timid, fearing people cannot do their work well, and they cannot do God’s work at all. [We] have a divinely assigned mission to fulfill which simply must not be dissipated in fear and anxiety.”
Turn To Him
When one lives their life for Jesus, they exchange His life for theirs. At that point, they have nothing left to prove. You know what? I don’t want to be in this life for a star chart, I don’t want to keep proving things to myself and to God and to others. I want to be in it for Jesus! Jesus told Peter, “You have to put your dirt out for me to wash.” He wanted Peter to turn to him. (Isn’t it interesting that the word repentance means “to turn to”.) But Peter was not going to put his dirt out there. Peter was the best of them and he was the worst of them. He had faith to walk on water, but he also denied Christ three times.
Isn’t it great that Jesus uses this example to show that we are the same way? We’re saints and we’re sinners. We’re in good shape and we’re broken. We’re broken, but He loves us anyway. So why is it that we hesitate to give Him our dirt? Why do I hang on to my fear when I could hand it over to Him? How can we be the army He needs us to be when we’re hiding stuff? When we’re pulling our dirty feet away and refusing to let Him wash them?
Challenge
Jennie Allen challenges,
“Let’s get this hidden stuff out of the way and move on. Everyone is hiding something. These ‘hidden things’ keep us from playing all of our cards. Why are we holding back? We have the potential to be an army of men and women that gets stuff done. I mean, what if? Fearing, striving, anger, proving. Let’s end it today! Jesus loves us, imperfections and all. Put your dirt out because He can wash it for good.”
President Hunter’s challenge to us is similar to the one shared by Jennie,
“Are we prepared to surrender to God’s commandments? Are we prepared to achieve victory over our appetites? Are we prepared to obey righteous law? If we can honestly answer yes to those questions, we can bid fear to depart from our lives.”
Thank you, President Hunter and Jennie Allen, for saying these words at a time when I most needed to hear them!
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No Longer Afraid
Recently, their words played themselves over and over in my mind and I felt the unmistakable desire to shout in a voice loud enough for the entire world to hear,
“Listen up, everyone! I am enough! You hear me? At times I’m awfully selfish and full of pride. I’m completely aware of that! I can be moody and impatient and exceptionally impossible, especially when I’m tired. On top of that, I make bad choices, I make a lousy loaf of bread, and I walk around with a hole in my slipper, but I am no longer afraid. I am ready to do whatever it is that Jesus wants me to do.”
I slept peacefully that night, resolved to let the calming voice of God drown out any personal thoughts of self-doubt. When I awoke, the first words I read were:
“Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us pray and then go and do.”
Thomas S. Monson
So here I am, imperfections and all, ready to hand my fears over to Jesus and continue on, like so many of you, in the fight against evil. I’m feeling bold, I’m feeling brave, and I feel the Spirit whispering that “the weak can be made strong” and that “through small and simple things, great things come to pass”.
Conclusion
I haven’t yet replaced the slippers that have the hole in them. In fact, they’re starting to grow on me. They serve as a reminder that, despite my holes, my brokenness, and my imperfections, I am enough for the Savior; that He has a plan for me, a plan that requires that I fearlessly be on His side, holes or no holes; and, finally, that only He has the power to take away all my “holes” and make me whole. (“Wilt thou be made whole?” John 5:6)
Yes, ours is meant to be a rising generation, not a hidden one.
In what ways have you struggled with fear?
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