Hiding beneath so much of what we do is fear. Like a shirt in your closet, unused for ten years, it’s been there so long you don’t even notice it any more. Are you ever worried, stressed, or even in a hurry? Do you get frustrated or angry? Are there things you just can’t bear to do? These are symptoms of fear (99.9% of the time).
We live in fear and don’t recognize the symptoms because we put the blame elsewhere. I think we’re afraid to admit we’re afraid. If you didn’t cough or have a fever, would you know you had the flu? Use the symptoms to pinpoint the fear. Ask yourself why. Not the outside reason (he said this, they did that), the inner one (if I fail at this, they’ll hate me). Follow the fear trail (if they hate me I’m a loser, if I’m a loser I have no value, if God loves me I should have value, if I have no value there is no God. Do I really even believe in God?). At its end is something you won’t want to see. You probably won’t be able to fix it either.
A friend asked me to choose a word of encouragement that began with the first letter of my name. I chose dare. Dare to look at those fears. Dare to take them to the great healer. Dare to give him permission to do anything he wants to fix it – anything. He’ll do it. It will hurt. It will take time. Dare to do it anyway. Once his work is done your dare will be to step from a prison where you’ve lived your entire life, out into your destiny. Dare to fly.