No matter where we are in our lives, we all experience fear. Our fear can come from just about any certain circumstance, but make no mistake. There is only one true source of fear. The enemy likes to take everything and spin it in some way. Whether he makes the good things seem bad or the bad things seem worse, he figures out a way to get in our head.
Sometimes, this makes us automatically find the bad in every situation. Whether we instantly assume we will fail a test, not have fun at an event, or even not have a good day, in all of these circumstances, we are doing it wrong. In order to stay above the things that will tear us down, we have to have faith in ourselves.
More importantly, we have to have faith in the One that never changes. The One that already has the perfect plan to carry us through whatever it is that we are stressing over. Fear and anxiety are no match for our God. Alone, we will never overcome these things.
It happens to the best of us. We think "oh I've totally got this under control," when in reality, nothing is actually in our control. We get sucked into the world and we forget that we have the awesome privilege of being able to talk to someone way above any trouble we think we're having.
"The name of the Lord is a strong fortress." A strong fortress. Remember the story of the three little pigs? The first one built his house out of straw, and the second one built his house out of sticks. Not very solid ideas, but hey, they gave it a try. The third pig knew what he was doing. Just like his brick house was too sturdy for the wolf to blow down, if we seek shelter in the Lord's fortress, the devil will never be able to knock us down.
"The godly run to him and are safe." He wants us to come and let him protect us. He wants to comfort us. The stress that we get from this messy world every day are so temporary. God wants to use these experiences to show us that there is a better way. The love and mercy that he yearns to give us is so accessible. We just have to trust him.
