The Fear of Following Your Heart

I have noticed lately that people are living in great fear. I hate that. Fear is what keeps us from being who we truly should be and need to be. Fear stops us cold in our tracks. Fear tells us we're not strong enough, good enough, pretty enough, popular enough, rich enough. Fear takes all of our dreams, hopes and joy and squashes it. Fear keeps us inside a little box instead of living outside the box.

Fear keeps us from hearing our hearts.

Recently, here's what I see to be some of the greatest fears people experience:

Fear of failure.
Fear of losing a house.
Fear of losing a job.
Fear of not finding a job.
Fear of not having enough money to pay the bills.
Fear of loss.
Fear of letting go.
Fear of following ones heart.
Fear of being inadequate.
Fear of not knowing.
Fear of the future.
Fear of being alone.
Fear of others condemnation.
Fear of where the government is leading our country.
Fear of new things.
Fear of risks.
Fear of being weak.
Fear of illness.
Fear of trusting others.
Fear of themselves.
Fear of trusting God.

For most of my life I've been pretty fearless. Until recently. Recently I've wanted to live safely inside my little world, as imperfect as it may be. But then that little box that I stuffed my whole world into was given a good shake when this idea came to me one afternoon. An idea that I began calling The Hope Road Trip.

Through some pretty crazy circumstances it's starting to turn into something that I didn't expect. And honestly, I've got some real excitement about where I'd like to take this thing and where I want it to lead, but I've also dealt with the fear that I'll give up on it because I won't have enough trust to let God take me where He needs me to go. And then there's the fear of going this alone.

There are moments when the idea of taking a road trip across America to seek out those in need in order to tell their story seems like a crazy little pipe dream. Logistically speaking that is. But I want to see this through. Why? Because I think people need to know and hear this:

1 Peter 5:10, And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

And that is why I am going to work at overcoming the fear that creeps in and tells me I'm not good enough, strong enough, adequate enough, connected to the right people...

So what is your fear keeping you from? Do you feel there is something you need to do but you're allowing fear to keep you from following your heart?

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You can read more about The Hope Road Trip at these links:

The Hope Road Trip

A Man In Search of Hope, Part 1

A Man In Search of Hope, Part 2

A Girl Rejected

A Young Mother, Her Baby and a Family in Need of Help