My Fear Over Your Fear
I want to make an observation and then pose a question…
First the observation. I have noticed that the phrase “faith over fear” has been one of the most used phrases of the pandemic. I see it thrown around so often in defense of the choices we are making for ourselves during this time. Here’s what I notice often happens immediately following the use of this phrase: the same person rattles off a list of fears that defends the choices they are making for themselves right now.
Here’s the question, when we say “faith over fear” are we actually saying “my fear over your fear?”
Today, I have genuinely been asking myself this question and a few others. Is my position truly faith-based, or fear-based? Have I ranked my fears into what’s most terrifying to me, helping me determine my course of action, or am I truly placing my faith in God? Also, is it ok to rank my fears to help make my choices?
Truthfully, this entire pandemic is ripe with fear: dying, long covid, full hospitals, intubation, passing it on to someone more vulnerable, losing a child to the disease…losing freedom, fake science, long term vax effects, loss of community. I notice many of us making choices based on which threats are more scary to us, and then calling our choice faith. I want to challenge us to make sure we aren’t over-spiritualizing. It’s ok to admit you’re afraid! There’s so much out of our control right now, and that is absolutely scary. We will and all have for sure made choices out of fear and risk-ranking during this time because we are human people!
Faith doesn’t need over-spiritualization, hype, or denial. It will show itself in the most gritty of moments and speak for itself.
I want to invite you to join me in asking some questions to help us discover if we’re really sinking into faith or fear:
If my child, my family, my friends, myself or my spouse get covid and die, is God still good?
If I take the vaccine and have a reaction, is God still good?
If I lose all my freedoms and have to live in a tyrannical society, is God still good?
If your worst fear becomes your reality, is God still good? Does he still love you? Can you still follow him?
Really deeply thinking on these questions can help us move from “my fear over your fear” to “faith over fear.” And truthfully acknowledging your fears to Father and then trusting him anyway, is what makes it faith.
A prayer to practice can be “God, I know I am deeply afraid of (worst fear here) happening. I know that keeping that from happening isn’t fully in my control and that it could happen even if I take the steps I can to avoid it. God, if (worst fear) happens, please show me your goodness and help me to trust you deeply in spite of the hardship. Amen.”