Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Tuesday October 19, 2010

I am not aware of a time in my brief life when the subject of fear was not talked about and the conversation or warning always involves the idea that fear is to be overcome. While a young man I sold vacuum cleaners door to door and also via referrals. The super duper motivators every week and atomically once per month in Upper Darby poured forth that there is nothing to fear behind the door. Some of the speeches were Lombardi- esque and I recall many thoughts from them to this day.

Joseph Campbell, while not a flaming fundamentalist or evangelical commented on overcoming fears with this:

"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."

Certainly this statement was translated to mean "The cave (house) holds next week's check and you have better encourage yourself and get in there and earn it." I doubt that Campbell had this use in mind, but he did want his listeners to grasp that the fear of a thing or event does more to defeat you than the actual attempting to do it.

I heard that the number one fear of Americans is the fear of speaking in public? Many people fear that if they attempt to speak in public, they will make a fool of themselves. I say to them, "Hey I do that very thing most Sunday Mornings, and I am still living." One of most the painful things I have ever endured is the comeback, "Yeah preacher, I know I listen every Sunday." Such is life, yet I have come to the place over the years that I actually enjoy speaking. I overcame the fear through trusting the Lord and doing the thing which I feared.

The word fear is used 395 times in the Bible, 315 times in the Old Testament and 80 in the New, and we are instructed to properly fear God and to fearlessly confront life and to not be afraid of enemies, gossip, weapons but to trust the Lord and press on. Paul expresses this clearly in 2 Timothy 1:7:

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Joshua overcame his fear of the Philistines by believing God's promise and moving ahead to accomplish that which he feared, the conquest of the Promised Land.

I found great treasure when I overcame my fear (Cave) of speaking in public.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2010 Use with credit

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