I am embarrassed to admit that much of my life has been governed more by fear than by faith. Many who know me might not have noticed it, but those closest to me have seen my weakness.

And why? God has been ever faithful and provided for me and my family over and over again. So much so that I cannot look back over the years and the troubles and not see His hand in every aspect of my life.

Some of it is from my parents. My mother suffered from a worrisome mind and depression. My father internalized everything and end up battling ulcers throughout his life leading to many surgeries.

I have done better managing this, but I still tend toward fear.

I try to fall back upon God’s promises in scripture and the knowledge that F.E.A.R. is just what it is; False Evidence Appearing Real. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face.”

God knew that as humans we would struggle with fear and there are many scriptures that are meant to comfort us through difficult times;

Psalm 27:1
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 118:6
6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?

2 Timothy 1:7
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Deuteronomy 31:6
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

It is obvious that God did not want us to face our fears alone. Thus, He provided these and many more scriptures on dealing with our fears, and a helper to be with us through fearful or uncertain times.

The question that we are faced with is whether we are going to allow our fear to overcome our faith. When we do so we are going against God’s plan for our lives and in essence sinning by not believing that He will see us through.

If I take this in a purely secular sense, what value is there in fear?

Aside from a health fear of the consequences of doing wrong, fear in and of itself has very little value in everyday life. Fortune favors the bold. Fear tends to freeze us and limit our ability to see beyond the moment and into the possibilities of the future. Fear can be debilitating and create insurmountable walls that keep us from acting in our own best interest.

Yet, we cannot discount the fact that fear is driven most often out of uncertainty. When we do not have a clear picture or plan for the future we tend to get wrapped up on the fear of not knowing what is to come. Should we but take the time to consider that those intrepid adventures that blazed early trails in this world to find new worlds, at times, laughing in the face of fear. Those who stepped out and were the inventors of the modern world were continually stepping into the unknown.

I love Edison’s quote, “I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Failure is a part of a life lived aggressively and continually forward. Additionally, looking at failure not as failure but simply as something that did not work is a healthy outlook on both failure and fear. The word “failure” in and of itself brings to mind negative connotations. However, just saying to yourself, “Welp, that didn’t work! Next.” allows us to move forward with a healthy perspective on whatever is next.

There is a current American Express commercial that I really like that profiles Nick Woodman, founder of Go-Pro. It shows him climbing a mountain to snow board down talking about thinking life was over when his first business failed. I think we can all see that his next try was a complete success that has catapulted him into the annals of the wildly successful.

So often I think people stop just short of this type of success. They give up one decision or move prior to wild success.

I have written for over twenty years now. I have sold some of my work but most of it has been gratis donations to web sites or small paper publications. However, I love to write and I have never seen myself as a failure from a writer’s standpoint. This, probably because I write as much for myself as I do for others. Would I love to have a wildly successful blog or book published?  Of course. However, if my words reach one person then I am happy (however, if someone wants to send me a huge financial windfall for my writing, I would not be offended).

Some time ago I began posting a scripture each morning on Facebook, along with a short personal comment. I did it because I felt lead to do so, which I expect was from God. I have been doing that now every day for over a year and have had so many people comment on the fact that they look forward to it each day. I had no idea that something so simple would have so much reach.

My life has been full of both big successes and small. I see my marriage of thirty three years this year as a huge success. It was, at times, fraught with difficulties as are all long term things, but has endured. My children are moving toward successful and productive lives, but more than that they are good people, which to me is far more successful in this day and time.

I have said before I strive, in this life, for significance more than success and I believe that in many ways I have lived and continue to live a life of significance.

How can I fear what is ahead when I can say these things?