Growing up in Oregon, I never had to pump my own gas. It’s illegal to pump your own gas in my home State. An attendant comes out and does it for you. Once I joined the military and moved to another State, I had to learn…and learn quickly if I wanted to keep driving.
As I made the transition from having someone pump my gas to doing it myself, I developed a ridiculous fear that someday I would drive away from the pump with the hose still connected to my car. I’ve seen videos where distracted drivers have done very thing I fear. Yet, when I started being afraid of this, there wasn’t YouTube and social media to ‘fuel’ the fear.
It’s an irrational fear. It’s just one example. Some of our irrational fears could involve health concerns, weather disasters, financial ruin, child raising, and tons more. The reality is this…when we entertain an irrational fear, we are distracted from the goodness of God.
I’ve often gone to scripture to overcome some of my irrational fears, such as driving away with the gas hose still attached to my gas tank. How we feel and act is a product of our active thinking. When we think godly thoughts, godly behavior follows. In Proverbs 23:7 (NASB) we see, “As a person thinks within himself, so he is.” We can replace the lies we believe with the truth of God. This is a renewal of our minds as seen in Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:23.
Through the renewal of our minds and alignment with the Word of God, we can put our beliefs into action. No matter what I believe about an irrational fear or phobia, I must also know that God promises good results. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV) states, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Each time I pump gas, I have the temptation to fall into fear about destroying the pump and my car. When I turn that fear over to the Lord, I’ve found the escape provided by God. He is allowing me an opportunity to focus more solely on him, rather than my fear.
Each one of us has a fear, like the danger of the gas pump. How we address the fear is where potential growth in our Christian walk can occur.
I’m praying this week that each of us faces our fear with the knowledge that the Lord is providing an “escape.”
~Emily
Iron Porch 