Shana Tovah, GamarChatimah Tovah!
There is a saying that, “Fear knocked on the door, Faith answered and no one was there.” There are many sayings that couple Fear with Faith and suggest that faith is the answer to our fears in life.
We are not short of adages that express this sentiment in different ways of Fear Faith cybersynagogue.
For example:
“When you come to the edge of all that you know, you must believe one of two things: either there will be ground to stand on, or you will be given wings to fly.”
Or:
“Let your dreams be bigger than your fears, your actions louder than your words and your faith stronger than your feelings.”
The topic of fear verses faith is one that has been pondered and contemplated by the greatest thinkers, philosophers and spiritual leaders.
The psalms are replete with the mention of faith washing away fear. In Psalm 34 we read, “I sought God and God answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
The Prophet Joshua exclaims, “Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be you dismayed: for the Adonai your God is with you wherever you go with Fear Faith cybersynagogue.
All of these poignantsayings, almost become platitudes and modern-day colloquialisms because we say them over and over again and rarely stop to ask ourselves, “What does that really mean to me?”
What does it mean to meet fear with faith? It may sound like a lofty ideal, but how do I apply it to my everyday life? The real problems I face today in a world filled with discord, disease, downtrends in the market and depressing news.
How do we live in a place of faith when the media, news and our own critical thinking plays on our fears?
This is the question. This is where we struggle to stay in balance and teeter on the seesaw of peace or anxiety. The crossroads between serenity and addictive excitement or stress.
Is it possible to live in faith when what is going on around us seems faithless and so troubling?
I would like to suggest that the answer is a resounding YES!
Let’s examine this:
In all of the sayings about faith none of them promise that our problems will all fade away. They state that there must be some sort of intervention involving God. However, how will that elusive idea help us get back into a state of balance when we are struggling and are spiritually or even mentally feeling that “teetering” or imbalance?
When we are in that place of imbalance our minds focus on a particular issue. Our critical mind goes through a series of machinations of the thought until we absorbed with nothing but the troubles and problems that cause by a single situation.
Mitzrayim along with Fear Faith cybersynagogue
A narrow mind or narrow thinking in Jewish tradition called Mitzrayim, the narrow place. This narrow place is where fear thrives. It feeds and creates the need to replay the thought until it has us in its grasp. Practically consumed by it.
This critical moment, when we have allowed ourselves to swallowed up with fear when we have the opportunity to make a necessary and profound decision.
This might sound simple however it is not easy. It is in fact, a very challenging process for us to become accustomed to naturally. Which is why I suggested it is NOT easy.
We change the thought. That’s it. We stop thinking about the trouble in a troubling or negative way and we replace the thought. A simple analogy could when we frustrated because our closest relatives or friends are not acting as we believe they should, instead of thinking “Oh here they go again.” We think “I will let this go, it is their choice and they are on their own path. I will pray for G-ds will for them”
What is Fear Faith cybersynagogue anyway? Isn’t it a thought based on past experience of a mindset focused on the peaceful and embracing loving presence of a God as each of us understands God.
It’s a thought, just like the fear is a thought.
When we can face our fears with a mindset of faith, not that the problems will magically go away, but with a confidence that we will be able to meet our challenges with calm, reflective discernment. This is what it feels like to, “Wear the world like a loose garment.”
It’s like putting RainX on your windshield. Go with me for a minute…..
When we put RainX on our windshield the rainwater beads and rolls right off the windshield. You often don’t even need to use your windshield wipers after RainX is applied.
So think of it this way…..
The rain is the problem, the windshield is your mind and the RainX faith.
The RainXdoesn’t stop the rain; it’s simply a protective surface applied to the glass which is hydrophobic.
Water phobic… WOW!
What if our mind was fear phobic. As the famous quote said by President Theodore Roosevelt coined when the Depression had reached its ultimate lowest point: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself?” That is absolutely right.
Fear and faith are two sides of the same coin. We simply turn it over. We transform our thought into one that is faith-FULL rather than faith-LESS.
It’s ok and very possible to have fear and faith at the same time.
When we walk in faith the narrow place opens up to a wide expanse of choices and perspectives. We are no longer enslaved and shackled to the uneasiness that fear exudes.
All this is not to say that we live in some sort of quixotic ideal where we trust in God to be the fixer’ of troubles.
It is to say however that when we live in faith we will have the strength, courage and insight to meet ALL of life’s challenges and difficulties.
Our faith enables us to stand upon the Rock of God’s guidance and insight and Fear Faith cybersynagogue.
Faith verses fear….. the decision faces us everyday if not multiple times throughout any given day.
Next time, stop, recognize the thought in your mind and replace it with one of those sayings we started with. Indeed peace is only a thought away.
