Fear — The Stomach Slugger

[bluidkiti]

Fear — The Stomach Slugger

Matthew 6:27 - “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

“Sometimes I get this strange sensation in my gut — like someone just slugged me,” shared my friend. “For years I didn’t realize that my fear was causing it. Now I recognize that the pain surfaces when I’m afraid my wife will be angry or disappointed in me.”

My friend has been conditioned to feel anxious. When he made an incorrect turn off the highway, his wife berated him. He went shopping to help out, but bought the wrong brands, and she responded, “How stupid!” He sang a solo, hit a flat note, and she joked. Even when they aren’t together, he worries he’ll make a mistake and she’ll find out. His need to be perfect and please her is an obsession.

Worrying and fretting about another’s response to us robs our lives of freedom and joy. Although we may wish someone else would behave differently toward us, becoming excessively anxious will not change what that person thinks and does. We begin to relax when we believe it is not our responsibility to control how another person thinks or reacts. God loves and values us regardless of what someone else says. We are worthwhile. We can smile and live.

Lord, I’m tired of feeling

like I’ve been slugged in the stomach.

Please help me release my fear.

2009 Joan C. Webb