The only thing we have to fear is fear itself

I'm a scardy cat. I fear a lot of things. At the top of my list is M-I-C-E. I know. It's dumb to be a grown woman, who has single-handedly killed a snake with a steak knife, who fears mice. I also fear my house catching on fire. When I was in college my family lived in an older house with bad wiring. A few months after we moved out it caught on fire and burned to the ground with a family inside. Not my family, but A family. Still, to this day, I wake up and think I smell smoke. It's just always in the back of my head, that silly fear. Something that DIDN'T EVEN HAPPEN TO ME!
A few months ago I went through Beth Moore's Study on the book of Esther. (It's a great study and I'd suggest doing it if you get the chance.) One week in the video session she talks about it being hard to be a woman in the tight fist of fear. I know that there are many of us who, in reality, are scared. We're scared that our husband is going to find a newer/better wife. We're scared we'll have to face the loss of a child. Scared that we'll loose our job. Scared that we aren't good enough, pretty enough, smart enough. The list goes on and on. The point is, I'm CERTAIN that at one time or another we were scared of SOMETHING.
We have these thoughts racing through our heads that start to change WHO we are. Filling our thoughts with fear will weigh us down until we can't move in any direction. Can you imagine the pleasure Satan gets from us being weighed down with fear. That's just one more person he doesn't have to worry about. We are destroying ourselves! Friends, the Bible says in 2 Timothy that "God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER, Love, and self-control!" God knew we'd struggle with fear. Did you know that "Do not fear!" is one of the most common commands of the Bible? Not only do we have a personal savior, but He gets us!
Beth gives this advice. Fill in the blank with the thing that scares you the most. IF_________. What is it that keeps you awake at night or has your stomach in knots? What is it that you tell others, if BLANK happened I wouldn't know what to do!? Think of that thing. Hold it up. Look at it. Think through it. What WOULD happen IF BLANK happened? Go through the steps. The ugly, not so spiritual steps. THEN. Look all the way down to the end and guess what? At the end of that chain is GOD. He's always been there. Walking through the trauma, the blessings, the happy and sad. HE'S FAITHFUL. You know what he's asking us!?
TAKE COURAGE. TAKE IT!! I'm holding it out to you. Just reach out and take it. It's a gift. I'm standing here, like I've always been standing here, with the courage(grace) you need for this. Just take the BRAVE step toward me and take the courage I'm willing to give you!
So many times I think we think up in our head all the bad stuff that COULD happen. God can't give you grace for that! He's giving you grace for the here and now. Know this, though.
IF________ THEN God will be there. No matter what it is that's in your blank.