dancing (and the fear it brings)...

It's something that I have a grand epiphany about every now and then. One of the those moments, when you realise you've been under the influence of something which should have no place in your life: fear. I love this quote...

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." - Franklin D Roosevelt

Which in my mind leads directly to this verse...

'The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.' John 10:10

I should know this! I should understand this! And yet sometimes it takes something really obvious, like a cake forming the text 'God is good' while it bakes in the oven, for it to sink in that God is good (that has never happened to me before, but a good example, no?). I should be aware that all the good things in my life, the joy and excitement and love, these were not created by God to be clutched onto with the fearful prospect of losing them. Fear is something the devil uses to steal our joy, to kill our excitment and to destroy our love.

The question that comes after my epiphany (cue golden halo light and some delightfully angelic singing) will then be, do I trust God? Fear stops us from achieving, and from chasing after the things God wants us to. I'm afraid of failure, I'm afraid that I'm so far from home, I'm afraid I have huge expectations to live up to for this amazing adventure I'm on. But if I'm realistic, all these fears are based on people and their opinions. What if I was not concerned with failure in this world, but success in God's eyes? I wonder what would be different? I wonder what would be the same?

I wonder what we could achieve if we weren't afraid?

image via cnibird