We were sitting around waiting for Rusty and Ericka to get married when Michael Hindes said something that made me grab a pen and write it down: "Fear is you looking down the road and not seeing God in the picture."
 
How many times do you fail to live in the present because you're so busy building "what if" scenarios about the future? Some people are ruled by fear. It keeps them from experiencing joy.
 
I'd written a blog on facing your fears before. I'm not afraid of much, but I've got a pretty bad case of acrophobia. Put me up on a cliff's edge and my knees will go weak. It can be embarrassing when everyone else is acting macho at the Grand Canyon and I'm whining about heights, but my fear does have two benefits. It keeps me from doing stupid things that might kill me and it helps me identify with people who feel trapped by their fears.
 
The enemy of your soul really doesn't have any weapons - all he has is pretense. So he builds an argument around the question, "what if?" What if I'm rejected again? What if I can't pay my rent? What if no one likes me? The irony is that God often poses that same question to us from a positive perspective. He wants us to partner with him in changing the world and wants us to visualize that better world. Asking "what if" can be a wonderful faith-building exercise, or it can be a debilitating fear-inducing habit.
 
So how do we fight fear? The Bible tells us, "Perfect love drives out fear;"* how does that work?
 
Well, it makes sense theologically if you recognize that God is love and that he came to destroy the works of the enemy. Draw near to God and you can't help but see the future with him in it. We need to practice our faith by visualizing God in the middle of whatever impossible or threatening circumstance we may be confronting. His love for you and his desire for your well-being will destroy the fear-based works of your enemy if you'll trust him.
 
But many people have so practiced the habit of fear that it has become a part of their character. They are actually controlled by a spirit of fear who has direct access to their minds. And every time God gives them an opportunity to trust, that despicable spirit whispers, "what if he fails you?" It's what he's been doing ever since Eden.
 
If that describes you, then the good news is that Jesus came to set you free. This is not just preacher's rhetoric; it is a reality I've observed over and over again. No other religion can claim that, though many Christians have grown numb to the raw delegated power in their hands.
 
If you let him, Jesus will do what he started doing back in Galilee - evicting evil squatters by confronting them head-on.  This could be the week where you break free and start living as God intended when he first thought you up. Fear is a tormenting spirit, but it has to be given permission to torment you. And you can take that permission away.
 
Now, you may not feel strong enough to ask him to help you do that on your own, and that's OK. There are probably people within driving distance who will use the authority Jesus delegated to them to help you get free of fear. I'd be happy to help find someone if you write me.
 
Isn't it time to start looking down life's road and starting to see God painting the picture - a picture where you can clearly see him?

*1 John 4:18