Take courage. I am here. (Mattew 14:27 NLT)

Max Lucado’s new book Fearless has opened my mind to several things, but one revelation will always stand out for me: Jesus did not want us to fear.

He tells us this over, and over again. When we count his words, the messages “do not fear”, “do not worry”, “do not be afraid” number more than any other communications he speaks in the Bible. Of course, his primary message < love God and your neighbors > comes across much more strongly, but one can’t deny the word count that Jesus mounts against fear.

Lucado also points out that to truly love, we cannot fear. Fear holds us back. It keeps us focused on ourselves, when we need to focus on God. With God fully in our hearts, there is no room for fear.

So the question I have now is, “How do I use this?”

Having recently finished Fearless, I am looking a my fears more closely. My hesitations, my procrastinations, my avoidances; so many of them stem from small fears of mine. I’m tired of them holding me back.

At least for now, I am finding this fairly easy. I take no credit for this ease, however. All the credit goes to Jesus and his incredible courage to face the cross for us. Jesus, like me, was a human who knew fear. His bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane proves it. Yet, his perfect love for his Father made it possible for him to be handed over to his enemies.

My fears are paltry whimpers in comparison to Jesus’, but nevertheless they are mine my fears - like we all have. And to deal with them, I am remembering to find my center, my core, and my courage.

A Spanish friend once taught me a lesson about “miedo/fear”. To fight it, you don’t have to be strong, or angry, or brave. You have to have “coraje/courage”. Both words in the Spanish and English forms have the root “cor” which in Spanish reminds us of “corazon/heart”. In English, we are reminded of “coronary” and “core”, which is of course - the heart of the matter!

Hopefully, as I investigate my fears more closely I will learn more about myself and get closer to God. I plan to turn my fearful obstacles into milestones on this Journey.

Find out more about Fearless