Fear. That tingling sensation that travels up your spine and makes your hair stand on end. The icy hands that grasp you unexpectedly and chill your very soul. The oppressive weight that settles deep in the pit of your stomach. Fear hides itself in the darkest corners of your mind and reality, ready to spring out at any second and overtake you. It is the great paralyzer, the overcomer of all other emotions. It leaves no room for love, or happiness, or sorrow, or even anger. It comes in many forms: a dark room, a painful memory, a vague figure from your nightmares. For all men, whether they are weak or strong, fear is inevitable. All men fear something; thus, Fear is the master of men. It holds them in subjection and manipulates them according to its dark will. You cannot escape its grasp.
We all know this. And yet we want - no, need - somebody to rescue us from our fears. Whether it is our own self-determination, a higher power, or a madman with a blue box, we need to believe that there is hope of deliverance from the things that haunt and scare us most. We need to believe that there is somebody out there who is brave enough, smart enough, and strong enough to overcome the very thing that is able to overcome us.
In the book of Isaiah, God has said, "Fear not, for I am with you." Fear may be the master of men, but God is the Lord over Fear. And while we may never completely throw off the shackles of the stuff of your nightmares while you walk this dark earth, we who trust God can have something that only He supplies: Courage. With Courage, we can feel the icy grip, the tingle in our spines, and the weight on our souls; but with the help of the Rock of Ages, we can face it knowing that there is Someone out there who is a better rescuer than any Time Lord or security blanket, and that He is always there, ready to pull us out of the darkness of our nightmares and bring us into His glorious peace and rest.
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