A thought by Zig Zigler, from his book, Better Than Good (p. 43). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)
So that would be a good thing to find out what it is, wouldn't it?
Zig says, "I don’t mean the fear of tornadoes or black cats or roller coasters. I mean the fears that lurk inside each of us that keep us from launching ourselves into the great adventure called life! We fear failure, of course—perhaps most of all. But we also fear losing the security of our own inhibitions. We fear losing control, and we fear the future. We fear living with the tension that exists between what we know and what we don’t know—the security of the present versus the insecurity of the future. Some people just can’t handle the unknown, so they remain bottled up, confined to the reality of the past instead of the potential of the future. Life is often like having one foot on the dock and the other foot on a boat that is leaving. We want to leave, but our desire for the safety of the homeland keeps us tentative and indecisive—and often lands us in the water!"
He continues, "Anything the Bible warns me about 365 times gets my full attention, and I’ve decided to take the words 'fear not' seriously! Interestingly enough, fear and faith have something in common: each expects something to happen in the future. We just don’t know what it is. What we do know is that what you expect is what is likely to happen. If fear is the dominant force in our life, we inadvertently—through unexplained actions and events—seem to attract disaster. On the other hand, if faith is the dominant force, it seems to bring about some good things because what we expect, we inadvertently work to achieve."
He goes on, "Did you know the opposite of faith is fear? When Jesus and His disciples were caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples were beside themselves with fear of drowning. Jesus asked them, 'Why are you timid, you men of little faith?' (Matthew 8:26). We have two choices for facing the future: we can face it with faith or with fear. The future is all about the unknown, and we can let that empower us or enslave us.
"The greatest fear of the future held by many is the fear of death. I remember immediately following the events of September 11, 2001, people asked me how my travel schedule would be affected. I said, 'Not at all.' I live my life looking through the windshield, not the rearview mirror. I believe the words of Psalm 139 that say the days of my life were ordained before I even existed (see verse 16). If that is true—and I believe it is—then no terrorist can touch me until God grants permission. Nor can any other harm befall me. And when it is my time to be promoted to heaven—regardless of how it happens—do you think I live in fear of that hour? Why, heaven is what I’m living for on earth! Until one has conquered the ultimate fear—the fear of death—no lesser fear is worth worrying about."
He then says, "I encourage you not to be stressed about the future. We may not know what the future holds, but we definitely know Who holds the future. Your faith in God will allow your passion to be boundless."
So good and so true, so very true, isn't it?
Yes, yes!
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