Conquering Fear

 

I just wrote an update the other day but here I go again. I have been doing the mindless mundane job of stripping the old paint off of “The Resurrection Project” and have had a lot of time to think so here we go!

This morning I watched an interview of a guy that has made a living providing security consulting for movie stars, wealthy people and politicians (including several presidents).

He got into his line of work at an early age because he was an abused child and learned how to assess situations and keep himself out of harms way when his parents got in abusive moods. In his early 20s he was already consulting for very famous people. His first big clients were Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. 

His company is very large now and he has started writing books and doing self help courses to help people navigate this crazy world. One of the things that really got my attention was his summary of what has driven civilizations since the beginning of time. He pointed out that freedoms and Democratic Republic type societies only represent a tiny sliver of all civilizations in history. Most societies ave been led by tyrannical leaders where the citizens did not have the freedoms that we have taken for granted.

He also pointed out that tyrannical leaders all use the same tool to control the citizens, FEAR! Remember the bully in school? How did he get power? Through FEAR!

Fear is used to divide people and prevent people from trusting one another. Fear paralyzes a society, prevents cooperation, stifles creativity, and stops risk taking.

These characteristics are absolutely required for a citizen to feel free and be happy!

Most fears that people have are imposed on them by people, laws, governments, or nature itself. Fear is imposed on people in our modern world by thousands of media outlets that have nothing better to do and to drive ratings. There are a million ways to be told to be scared of something! Don’t get me wrong, there are real “boogie men” and “boogie things” but they are not as prominent as they are advertised. Every time there is a “boogie man” event, everyone piles on and sensationalizes the event to create drama, ratings, and fear. Have you ever noticed that when a “boogie man” event happens everyone will try to find more events like it to make everything seem like doomsday.

Now I want to talk about conquering fear. I have been very fortunate to have had a relationship with Jesus Christ most of my life. My relationship with Him has made many of my fears, less scary. For instance, I have never been afraid of death because I know what comes next for me! I am not trying to rush death but I do not stop experiencing life because I am scared of dying. I have and do know people that are so scared of death that they are missing out on life (in my opinion). 

I have known people that don’t marry the one they love because they are scared of divorce, didn’t take their family on vacation because they were afraid to spend money, didn’t take a risk at work because they were afraid of getting fired, couldn’t say no to drugs or alcohol because they were afraid of not being accepted, bullied someone because they were afraid they wouldn’t be macho!,…………….

I have even known people who would not accept Christ because they were afraid it would keep them from having fun, what?

I have tried to do the exact opposite in my life. I have tried to face my fears head on with God backing me up! 

When I was young, I was short, overweight, and had no personality or social skills. Because of this, I was constantly picked on. I hated school and everything about it. I was a good student but hated every minute of it! I typically just let bullies be bullies and tried to ignore them. I knew I was smarter than they were and I knew God had my back. I just survived!

When I was in high school, I got in a school work program and went to work part time for the Coca Cola Bottling Company, loading trucks. It was a very physical job and must have cause my hormones to wake up. In one summer, I went from short and fat to tall, slender, and in good shape. I was good at what I did and that gave me confidence. Once I went back to school in the fall, I really wasn’t scared of anyone any longer. That job was a life changer!

After that, I began to face my fears head on. I was free!

I got the nerve to ask Traci to go on a date. I was able to ask her to marry me on the third date, I was able to leave jobs that I was comfortable in to improve my future, etc.

One of my biggest fears in my younger life was public speaking. I was such a social misfit that public speaking seemed like a mountain that could not be climbed. Over the years, Traci (a social butterfly) taught me not to be afraid of speaking in public. In 1990, Mobil Oil moved us to Bakersfield,  California to be a training instructor. It was a very scary thing but with Traci and God’s help, I conquered that fear. Not only did I conquer it, it became the way we made our living for the rest of our lives. What a tragedy it would have been to let that fear stop me from becoming a trainer. God knew what he was doing. Today that life change provides jobs for 20+ people. 

The point of the story is that I have had many things in life that were scary that turned out to be the best things I have ever done. Some of the biggies are:

1. Quitting my job of 15 years with Mobil Oil to start a business

2. Jumping a 75 foot span jump at an indoor motocross race

3. Have two daughters

4. Road race motorcycles

5. Bungee Jump 

5. Drag racing

6. Travel to third world countries

They way I look at fear is this; “If someone else can conquer this fear, so can I”  This is the whole point of the name of our race team, Luke 1:37 Racing, LLC. 

If you have actually made it to the bottom of my post, I would encourage each one of you (no matter how young or old you are) to conquer a new fear regularly. Go out and do something. Trust in God and know we have eternal life. There is nothing to be afraid of!!! Take a risk, try something:

1. Learn to drive a stick shift

2. Ride a roller coaster

3. Get your pilot’s license

4. Do a speach or talk in public

5. Sing a song out loud (if you can sing)

6. Learn to ride a motorcycle

7. Learn to waterski or snow ski 

8. Learn to do carpentry metal fabrication

9. Help someone that may not be as fortunate as you

10. Build and drive a 250mph drag car. OK this one is kind of crazy but sure is fun!

Conquering your fears will make you feel alive! 

Luke 1:37 “For nothing is impossible with God”