“If you sit down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”               – Proverbs 3:24

When I was a young teen, my family spent some time at a friends cabin in northern Pennsylvania. My father grew up spending a lot of time in the woods and even though I grew up closer to the city, he often made time for me to get away with him. This made me feel very confident about my skills and I looked forward to the time away.

After we arrived at the cabin, I went for a walk in the woods while the adults were getting the cabin ready for our stay. In just a few minutes, I came upon a doe feeding on some grass. She was only about 25 yards away and I expected her to spook and run, but she froze with her eyes fixed on me. I too held my position and slowly sat down. It was a wonderful experience to be so close and I lost track of time as I enjoyed it.

When she finally decided to move on, it was already dusk and I needed to get back to my family, but engrossed as I was in watching her feed, I’d forgotten how to get back. I tried to steady my mind and keep the fear in check, but there was a growing heaviness within  me as I tried to find my way back.

It took a while, but I finally made my way to a dirt road, but I did not know where I was. Most of the cabins were empty with the only sign of activity being a small fire behind one home. By this time panic already set in and I could not decide what to do. I wanted to find my way back, but looking at the campfire, I began to have images of Deliverance (the movie, not a rescue). When I finally gave in, I approached the fire only to discover that it was actually the cabin where my family was staying. I felt a little silly about my fear, but I was so glad to be home.

Fear has an amazing way of immobilizing us. Once it sets in, the roots grow deeper eroding our confidence and weakening our faith. Fear of failure, the unknown, and even what we do know can keep us from taking much needed steps, and many choose ignorance and fantasy instead of facing the reality that frightens them. The good news is that just as fear can challenge our faith, our faith can challenge our fear.

The writer of Proverbs believed that when our attention in on wisdom, God’s wisdom, that we could sit without fear and enjoy sweet sleep. Further in the third chapter we read, “for the Lord will be your confidence…” (3:26) It is in the Lord and the wisdom of God that we find the confidence to face our fears.

Left to my own ability, I end up lost in the woods and afraid on the path, but with my hope fixed on God, I find courage to embrace the unknown, to believe that I am more than my past failures, and to step into the future with a sense of hope and possibility.

Fear is a difficult adversary, but the Lord a fearsome Advocate. We face our fears, not only from our own strength, but with the strength of the Almighty One who walks through valley with us to bring us to a good place waiting for us just beyond what we fear.