My current fear

Friend,

Do you ever get afraid? Do you have a fear that keeps you up at night, wakes you up at night, haunts the night? With permission I could create a never ending list of what I am afraid of and the list would grow as one fear fuels my next fear, but that is dangerous, unproductive and crippling, not to mention the absence of the Lord.

I’m reading Seven Secrets of the Spirit-filled Life by Jack Levison and he tasks us with naming one fear and anxiety. My current fear is the depravity of my city. The drugs, violence, closures, neglect, selfishness, departures, apathy, lack of tough love.

Jack then invites us to picture the Holy Spirit standing in the midst of the fear. So I took 2 minutes and let myself picture the Tenderloin, the for sale signs in SoMa neighborhood, our new church building, and city hall. I pictured the Holy Spirit standing. Being present.

The final part of this exercise was to take 3 minutes to write down how I will join the Holy Spirit in his work. What I wrote down are the very things God has been putting on my heart that actually address my current fear. Interesting, at least for me, is that the very thing I fear, God has a part for me to play in the hope and redemption of it all. I jotted down some meetings I want to have, some prayers I want to pray, and some dreams I want to pursue. All because I have a fear, but I have the Holy Spirit who stands in the place where fear resides and He is greater. He is at work. He is breathing life.

What are you afraid of, friend? Name it and know that the Holy Spirit stands in the midst of it. Knowing this truth, how will you partner with Him today?

Filled with hope,

Shauna