No fun with fear around

Not a good title to read I suppose, but it kind of succinctly puts into perspective these past couple of months for me. I can't go into a lot of details, some of you already know them, but I feel a lot of fears have been revealed to me lately and I've been mixed on responding to them. It's no fun to have your fears revealed, much less realized, which has thankfully not happened. But still, it's no fun having fear around. But in the times my fears have been revealed, I sense God is revealing them to free me from them. I realize that's His plan - His good plan - for me, in revealing these fears.

So that's what I'm currently going through in my times with God, when I journal and I am also reading the book Running Scared by Ed Welch. This is a good book. I am already getting much from it, and I only just started it. I also think it's the grace of God that He has also passed along other things to encourage me along the way. One of those things was an acronym of the word 'FEAR.'

F - False
E - Evidence
A - Appearing
R - Real

Simple I know, but it has helped me when I've felt fear creep alongside me. When I remind myself of this acronym, then I remember God's promises - "NEVER will I leave you, NEVER will I forsake you." God's promises are REAL and they are more REAL than fear - although I know fear feels real. And there are good kinds of fear - but God is bigger than our fears and He is true and trustworthy.

So, just to warn you, I may post some quotes or something I'm reading in Welch's book and I hope they are an encouragement to you.