Quotes about Fear

We've survived what we feared. But can we survive the remembering? Memories are both our greatest treasures and our greatest sorrows.

I'm no longer at the first cliff where the ground fell out from beneath me. But I'm also not all the way across to solid ground where everyone exhales, exhausted but relieved. No, I'm in the middle, which honestly might be the scariest of all places. Moving ahead and turning back are both equally terrifying.

If so, I guarantee when the enemy sees us he shakes with fear. He isn't scared of the judgmental soul shellacked with a fake sense of perfection. But the compassionate soul who has hurt deeply and come out loving? Yes, she is one of the superstars of God's grand story, and the one you want near you in the battles of life.

The enemy wants us paralyzed and compromised by the whispers and doubts and what-ifs and opinions and accusations and misunderstandings and all the other hissing handcuffs crafted by fear.

There is no perfect decision—only the perfectly surrendered decision to press through our fears and know that God is working in us to bring about good through us.

Often, what I expect tomorrow to bring will start to play out in my attitude. I think, in some weird way, that if I expect hurt and heartbreak and hardships, this protects me from getting caught off guard. But in reality, when I do this, my negativity pulls me away from trusting God, loving people, and enjoying what today offers. And it sometimes even becomes self-fulfilled prophecies as I trade the good of today for living in fear of tomorrow.

1The 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?

When His timing seems questionable, His lack of intervention seems hurtful, and His promises seem doubtful, I get afraid. I get confused. And left alone with those feelings, I can't help but feel disappointed that God isn't doing what I assume a good God should do.

We are hiding, every last one of us. Well aware that we, too, are not what we were meant to be, desperately afraid of exposure, terrified of being seen for what we are and are not, we have run off into the bushes. We hide in our office, at the gym, behind the newspaper and mostly behind our personality. Most of what you encounter when you meet a man is a facade, an elaborate fig leaf, a brilliant disguise.

The most dangerous man on earth is the man who has reckoned with his own death. All men die; few men ever really live. Sure, you can create a safe life for yourself... and end your days in a rest home babbling on about some forgotten misfortune. I'd rather go down swinging. Besides, the less we are trying to "save ourselves," the more effective a warrior we will be.

A woman who is striving invites others to strive. The message—sometimes implicit in her actions, sometimes explicit through her words—is, "Get your act together. Life is uncertain. There is no time for your heart here. Shape up. Get busy. That's what is important." She does not say, "All is well. All shall be well." Her fear doesn't allow it. She is withholding the very things her world needs.

A woman who is striving invites others to strive. The message—sometimes implicit in her actions, sometimes explicit through her words—is, "Get your act together. Life is uncertain. There is no time for your heart here. Shape up. Get busy. That's what is important." She does not say, "All is well. All shall be well." Her fear doesn't allow it. She is withholding the very things her world needs.