It’s so funny how God
works sometimes, my last post was literally just a few days ago talking about
seeking inspiration in our everyday lives (if you missed that one, please go
back and check it out), and just a few short days later He speaks again! Considering
some recent and projected current events, the Lord pressed on my heart to
discuss fear. Yes, fear is instilled in us and is essentially a part of our
human nature, however if we let it consume our heart, mind, body and spirit, it
can manifest and lead into some dangerous territory. I’m sure that everyone has
become aware of the devastation that hit Houston, Texas and other surrounding
Texas cities as well as parts of Louisiana this past week with Hurricane
Harvey. This storm brought flooding to Houston like they’ve never seen before
and my mother being from Houston and all the maternal side of my extended
family still residing there, it was hard to see on the news on over social media
given the close connection, but by the grace of God all of them are safe and
doing well!
So, you might be thinking
what does mentioning Hurricane Harvey have to do with overcoming fear? Well, in
even more current events, the most recent buzz is now being Hurricane Irma
which appears to be heading over to my neck of the woods in Florida at some
point this upcoming weekend. I’ve lived in Florida my whole life and by no
means are we strangers to bad weather and threats of severe storms and hurricanes
to potentially come our way. Once again, by the grace of God, He has continued
to spare us from devastation time and time again, but as always there is
nothing wrong with being prepared, just in case. Given the magnitude of Irma
(which recently became a category 5 hurricane) and the very recent events that
occurred in Houston, it seems like I’ve witnessed some Floridians taking “getting
prepared” to a whole new level! Walking into Walmart after work to grab a few
miscellaneous items and seeing shelves that are already starting to be striped
of inventory and driving around town and passing by gas stations with cars
waiting in line some even pouring out into the traffic waiting to pull up to
the next available pump; it was like the spirit of fear had been cast over
everyone that’s getting “prepared” or at least in my area it seems that way!
Don’t get me wrong, there
is absolutely nothing wrong with being prepared, but as I mentioned before the
hurricane is still several days away from touching Florida and people are
already (to put things in perspective I’m writing this on Tuesday) appear to be
acting as if they’re ready to either stock up as much as they can or they are
gassing up and saying peace out Florida, I gotta go (despite still having to
complete the remainder of the work/school week as normal)! I get it, when we
see the worst happen to others and are fearful of something like that happening
to us, our first instinct is to run from it to a safe place, no matter what is!
If you broaden the spectrum and not just think about the storm; think about what
you’re afraid of? Spiders, heights,
closed-in spaces, flying, commitment, leaving your comfort zone? Then think
about if your initial response to that fear is to run? I can’t assume everyone
is the same but I’m sure that a good chunk of people would say that they do
tend to run away from their fears, myself included, after all it’s a part of
our human nature, right?
The one thing about human
nature is that just because it feels like the right way to feel or that it
drives you in the right direction to go, it does not actually mean that it’s
right at all! As a person of faith, in times you may be feeling fearful you have
plenty of references that you could look to such as 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has
not given us a spirit of feat, but one of power, love and sound judgement”. I
challenge anyone that may be reading this, if you claim to be a person of faith
whether it be Christian or not, to ask yourself what is driving your actions?
Is it fear and worry? Or is it love and faith? Both can’t dwell at the same
time so it’s up to you to decide which path you would like to drive that car
that represents your life down! In no way am I saying that overcoming fear is
an easy task; we have things thrown at us seemingly out of nowhere that could
potentially change our outlook on life for the better or the worst.
Society likes to
categorize people into several groups, two of which are based on a person’s
constant state of mind; the optimist vs. the pessimist (aka the person that
looks at the glass half full vs. the person that looks at the glass half empty).
Do I believe that history repeats itself, yes (I believe it’s been proven time
and time again) so with that being said: could recent history repeat itself
with the same thing that happened to Houston, happen to those of us that live
in Florida? Possibly, but I consider that the pessimistic and fearful way of
thinking. On the flip side, could history repeat itself and God have Florida be
spared by yet another destructive storm that was seemingly trying to take us
out? That is also very possible, and that is the optimistic way that I’m
choosing think and that is a result of my trust and faith in God that He’s got
me covered, my spirit is truly at peace! (s.n.; this is not a shot at anyone
that considers themselves more pessimistic about somethings, there is a time and
shared space for everyone to come together with all of our different point of
views) Even if God was to allow Irma to come through Florida and cause some
damage or take away some of our material possessions, I still believe that if
God doesn’t call me home and spares my life in the midst of a storm, that He’s
still got me covered! I pray I can encourage someone to challenge their fears
and take control over the spirit that is behind them, no matter the
circumstances! I love you all and I pray God’s safe keeping over you wherever you
are in the world!
Much Love,
Ebony💜
**DISCLAIMER: This post is not meant to discourage anyone from taking the necessary precautions to be prepared to protect themselves and their families for Hurricane Irma. This is more so encouragement to check your motives behind your actions for everything that you do. I do not encourage anyone to sit and do absolutely nothing when we still have time to decide what's best for ourselves and our families. God did not give us the spirit of fear but He did give us wisdom!!!***
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