July 20: When You Are Afraid
The phone rings and your stomach drops. A letter shows up and you don’t want to open it. Fear lives right under the surface. What do you do with it now that you’re not drinking it away?
“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”
David wrote this psalm when he was being hunted. Real enemies, real danger. And he says something honest. When I’m afraid, I will trust in you. He doesn’t say he’s never afraid. He says what he does when he is.
Fear probably showed up all over your inventory. Fear of people. Fear of money problems. Fear of being found out. Fear of being alone. A lot of drinking starts as a way to quiet fear. The drink worked for a while. Then it made everything scarier.
Step Seven asks God to remove the shortcomings that get in the way. Fear is one of the biggest. But fear doesn’t usually leave all at once. More often, God replaces it bit by bit with trust, as you practice.
The practice is simple. When you’re afraid, say so to God. Then do the next right thing anyway. Open the letter. Answer the phone. Make the appointment. Each time you act in faith while still afraid, the fear gets a little smaller.
It helps to say the fear out loud to another person too. Fears grow in the dark. They shrink in the light. Call your sponsor and say, “I’m scared about this.” You’ll often hear, “Me too, here’s what helped.”
David asks a good question. What can flesh do to me? He doesn’t mean nothing bad can happen. He means that people and problems aren’t the final word. God is. And God is for you.
You don’t have to stop feeling afraid before you trust God. You can do both at the same time. That’s what David did.
One thing today
Do one thing today you’ve been putting off out of fear. Before you do it, pray David’s words. “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.”
A prayer
God, I’m afraid of more things than I like to admit. When fear shows up today, help me trust You instead of running. Give me the courage to do the next right thing anyway. Amen.
Fear is one of the defects you can hand over in Step Seven.
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