Holding Fast When You're Afraid

Whether you're navigating personal struggles, uncertain seasons, or everyday worries, this conversation is an invitation to exchange fear for faith and discover the peace that comes from trusting God. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to Off Script, a conversation with no fakes, no filters, just real conversations about how faith and flesh meet in the everyday life, where we experience a God who made us on purpose for his purpose. This is off script. Let's talk.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Alright, guys, what is your biggest, like weirdest fear that you have?

SPEAKER_04 0:23

Morgan Starr.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Why did why did you all look at me?

SPEAKER_03 0:26

Okay? So here's I do. So here's the deal. Here's the deal. You all know what I'm gonna say. And that's why you're all looking at me because you're like, you have a stupid fear. Okay? Here's the deal. It's E.T. That's how Gamden laughs. It started when I was seven years old. I have two fears that they just send shivers down my backside. Okay. It's E.T. That's creepy. That's I don't know if he's an alien. I don't know if he's a demon. I don't he's a little bit of both. Okay, he freaks me out. And then the other one is Corella Deville, okay? Have horrid memories. I had a re stop judging me. I had a recurring dream. I don't know. I had a recurring dream for seven years that my mom transformed into Corella Deville. Okay, because I thought when I was little her laugh was similar to her. I hope mom's not listening to this. Just saying I had a fear, and there's somebody on staff that shall not be named, Tanner Vines. Thought it would be funny to put pictures of E.T. And I don't know if Corella Deville was on there too, but E.T. all on my door at my office, and I was terrified to even go in the office that day. So that's my fear. Make fun of me all you will.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

I have like a care I've completely forgot about this one, but the Joker is a big fear of mine. When I was really little, the high schoolers at the Pep Rally, the high school dance team did a Halloween dance, and someone dressed up as the Joker and like went in through the crowd. And when I tell y'all, had nightmares about it for years. I mean, probably still do. I can't even look at him if we watch any of those movies. But my like real fear is snakes, and I feel like that's real snakes for everybody. Yes, like try to go the whole summer and not see a snake. You will not catch me anywhere where you can see a snake.

SPEAKER_04 2:03

I think it's more of the jump scares. Snakes are like a jump scare type thing. Like you don't see them until you see them.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Mine is probably okay, everybody knows I'm afraid of airplanes, but that's stupid. I can't say that. So my this one's probably worse, and you you all can you can make fun of me, but hibachi? The food or the experience? The fire that comes from. Oh, okay, that's fair. And why are you first of all, the whole experience actually? Why are you throwing food at me? Like there's no need. But then the fire, like I will literally get up and go to the bathroom when I know they're about to light it because I'm so scared. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

And they do like the onion. Oh, yeah, the train is.

SPEAKER_04 2:45

Oh my gosh. Cam, what's yours? Mine is would probably have to be getting stuck in an elevator. Now I feel like it depends on like if I'm in like a nice hotel or something like that, like I'll it's less or like a big elevator.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

But like the one at the South Campus? Like stuff.

SPEAKER_04 3:00

Oh, like that or like a parking deck? Oh my gosh. Nobody's gonna hear you scream if you get stuck in an elevator, nobody's gonna come for you.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

Especially like given the option, elevator or stairs, like what are you taking?

SPEAKER_04 3:12

Stairs. Like liter okay, so for example, here's a story. Years back, I was I was probably this is you know when fear was a big thing in my life. I was probably like 10, and we were at the Vulcan for a wedding. And everybody, if you've ever been to the Vulcan, there's the elevator's glass, and you can see like up, down, side, side, everything. Everybody's like, Yeah, we're taking the elevator. I was like, I'm not. I just I went up every single one of those stairs all the way up to the room.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

So when we were in Paris, there was we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Don't ever do it, Cam, because you can take as many stairs as you want, but when you get to the part where it's real skinny, you have to take the elevator, and there's nowhere that you can look that you're not looking outside. Like I tried to look down, I tried to look to the side, I tried to look everywhere. Don't ever do it, okay? It's not fun. But okay, so this is actually Cam's last podcast with us, which is so sad. And he actually really wanted to talk about fear, so here we are, but also just your next season of life and where you're about to step into. I'm sure there's a lot of like fear of the unknown. And you know, I was thinking about all of our seniors right now and going off to college, and we've all been there and just that kind of fear, but I think we all handle fear fear differently and we all experience it. I think you know, if if you're out there saying, I don't, I'm not scared of anything, well, I think there's something so everyone in their life is gonna experience fear. And how do we handle that fear? How do we walk in the fear? How do we trust in the Lord even in the midst of I am scared of this, but I do trust Him? To kind of tell us like where you're at right now with that. I'm sure like you're probably sitting in the fear, but you're like, I'm still gonna go. Like I'm still gonna go and do.

SPEAKER_04 4:56

Well, it it's it's so weird because I mean, you go from I mean, for example, I mean, this building that we're sitting in right now is where I've been for I mean twenty years. I mean, this is like this is all I've ever known. I mean, literally move from one side of Garden Hill to the other. And when I see an opportunity that's like, I feel like the Lord is calling me there, or I feel like the Lord opened up this door. At first I was like, you know, let's do it. But then it's also I feel like kind of talking about it earlier, it's it's the temptation of fear. It's like I can be all like, I'm excited to go and like all these good things are gonna happen, but then you know when I think about it more, you let those thoughts kind of creep in of like, well, what's gonna happen? Like, am I gonna like the people that I'm staying with, or am I gonna be like left alone, or am I gonna be like an outsider because I don't live in the state of Texas? Everybody else is from there, I'm not. No, what is right, and it's it's it's kind of a weird situation because at the same time, you know, you're like, well, obviously this is where the Lord wants me, but at the same time it's like what if I don't belong here, or like what if what if this is not what the Lord wants? And then you start and it's just like almost just like a building block. It just you start with one fear and then you think of multiple other things and it just keeps on going from there.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:20

And I wouldn't say that I've been there, but at the same time, the temptation of fear is honestly just as bad sometimes because you think about that one thing and it just builds off that.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

Yeah, I do think in fear though, like with maybe big decisions or stepping into a new season, the Lord gives you peace that you can't understand. I think for me that's always been the thing that's helped me, you know. I may be scared of this, but I also have peace about what I'm about to walk into. And and that's how I know like it's from the Lord too.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

So and I think the thing with fear too, like fear will set up so many boundaries in your life if you let it. Like you will only go as far as the things you're afraid of. And I think about seasons in my life where the Lord was asking me to do something like Camden's situation that's unknown. And like if I wouldn't have stepped into that, I would have missed out on so much of the Lord's goodness. And so I I think that is the thing with fear. If you let it, it will literally set up boundaries in your life, and you will only go as far as those things. So I think it's like learning how, well, how do I get over that and kind of just trusting the Lord in that?

SPEAKER_03 7:19

Yeah, and to add on to that too, you know, when you were talking about the what-ifs, Camden, I thought a lot about a wise woman in my life once told me that your mind is like an airport, you can't always control the planes that are gonna come in and out, like your thoughts, but you can control what will land and when it will land. And I that's always been so wise for me to think about when we think about the battle of the mind. Okay, the thoughts that come into my mind every single second of every day. Sometimes I can't control it. But what I can control is what I do with that thought. And I think with fear, that's really the actions. There's gonna be some things that are just scary, but what I can control is my attitude towards it. Am I gonna spiral into fear or am I gonna put active trust and faith in God? Because when you get down to the what if, if you let the what ifs rule your life, that is a scary place to be. But when you put your faith in the what is and who God is and who God has called me to be, and even though I don't have absolutely every single part of my life figured out, that's faith. I can trust that God is who he says he is and that he has a plan for my life.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Yeah, I or go ahead, go ahead. Go ahead. I was just gonna say, like the Deuteronomy 31, 8 is the one that I like hold on to in fear. My other Bible says it like this, but it says it is the Lord who marches on before you, he'll be with you, he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. But I think the context of that is like this is Moses telling Joshua this as Joshua's about to like lead the Israelites, and right before Moses dies, and I think that that like obviously the context of that gives me peace, but then also just the verse itself. I I get this picture of like God's in this action movie, and like all these things are like coming his way, and he's just in slow motion, like knocking it all out of the way, like he's the one that like marches on before, and so when I can like visualize that, I'm like, okay, maybe he's in this is my life that he's walking through, and there's all these things coming my way, but also like he's big enough to handle all of that, like he's big enough to handle your fear, your emotions, your anger, your bitterness, your shame. Like, he's big enough to handle all of that.

SPEAKER_04 9:28

Yeah, I think you know, traveling to Texas and San Antonio, whatever, like all of the questions people ask me is like, are you excited? Like, are you nervous? Or like and it's weird because like if you'd asked me this, like if this was like my mind and my heart ten years ago, it'd be a complete different answer now. And my answer has always been, you know, like I'm ready to be uncomfortable. Like, because I feel like fear is you just get like so comfortable being like unhappy, and it's just this this state that you live in, but yet you pretend that you're fine. And it's like I'm ready to be uncomfortable. I'm ready to be in something that's that's not of my power, but it's something that the Lord's given through like through me. And the verse that I mean since I was a little kid that my mom read me and and that's been like what I stand on is 2 Timothy 1 7. For God has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind or self-control, whatever whatever version you read. But I mean, when I like you hear all the time, it's like, you know, find a verse that you can like find a life verse, find a verse, and it's like some some people maybe be like, Yeah, I don't really it's just something that I say. When you truly believe something and you read it, and you're not just reading it for words, but you're reading it because I know that it's true, that verse has completely changed my life and changed how I think about everything. Not saying that I'm you know Superman over here, not scared of anything, but you walk around life differently in a different perspective for sure.

SPEAKER_03 11:01

And I would say too, there's probably two different people, you know, listening to this podcast. There's somebody that's like, I was scrolling through the podcast and I saw this episode and it's the first one I'm listening to listening to because I so struggle with fear. And then you've got some people listening to the podcast that are like, I mean, I don't know, I have moments, but I don't live dominated by that. If you're in the category where like my life is just paralyzed by fear, you know, or you're just like, I don't know, I just I kind of struggle with fear sometimes, but not, it doesn't matter. Scripture, let that be your guardrails, let that be the path that you walk on. Second Timothy 1, 7, Philippians 4, 6 through 7, Isaiah 23. There's so many different Isaiah 43. I mean, y'all, I'm sure y'all think of some too, but let scripture be the bomb to the soul. It is God's words that he has given to us so that we may know who he is and who he has called us to be. And if you're someone that's just listening and you're like, Morgan, Avery Cam said, I'm just, I'm in a shackle of fear. I think one of the best things that you can do just very practically, because I'm a practical person, is live a life dedicated in prayer. You know, I love how 1 Thessalonians 5.17 is pray continually without ceasing, another version says, throughout the day, in the morning hours, in the late night hours. Let scripture be your foundation. And that'll also say invite people into that. Just a very quick story. We were on a mission trip here a couple months ago, and I was just having a very anxious moment. I was so tired and I was afraid that I wasn't gonna be able to drive. And I just spiraled in my hotel room. If I don't drive, I'm gonna get in a car accident and I'm gonna, I'm gonna die. And it's just it goes into all these what ifs that we talked about, right? What if places the perspective on me? What is places the perspective on God. And I just got up in the middle of the night and I just got it near Avery's bed. I just said, can you just pray for me? I'm just, I'm having a panic attack. She didn't ask any questions. She just started praying. Straight up, she jumped up out of bed and was like, okay. I did. And I just was like, Avery, can you pray for me? She didn't ask any questions. Like she didn't need to know. Like she just was sitting there and she just put her hand on my back and she started praying out loud for me. And my favorite part of the story is Sydney that is sitting here first. Well, I don't really know that I knew what was going on.

SPEAKER_04 13:14

Sydney has the garage mask off.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

So like Morgan's on the floor next to Avery. I'm next to Avery, and I just hear, Avery, can you pray for me? And I'm like kind of awake. I think, y'all, I don't know what happened. And I literally am just laying there asleep, and I just said, I just put my hand up because I didn't know what else to do.

SPEAKER_03 13:35

But I mean, like, it's such a good picture of inviting people when fear sometimes makes you feel so isolated. That's the enemy's tactic. He wants you to make you feel that you're the only one struggling with this. And inviting people into that space, it teaches you a couple things, teaches you the power of the church, but also that you're not alone. I mean, every person in this circle has, or the square, I guess, has a different story with fear. And I mean, my I mean, I've shared on the podcast several times about my struggle with fear and anxiety. And I think with the Lord, like he wants you to live. Pastor Kevin had a great, uh, great sermon about this about freedom over shame. And just talking about, you know, like talking about your story because when you move your darkness into the light, the enemy loses power.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Yeah. Well, and the thing with fear too, like you just said scripture is so important. Yes, because fear normally lies to you. Yes. Fear says, hey, I'm alone. No, the truth of God's word says you're never alone. Like fear says everything's falling apart. No, scripture says he's in control of all things. So I think when when fear starts to overtake, like that's when we kind of lose perspective of who God is. And so if we would just like remember who he is, that would just change a lot of things. But no, prayer, I think that's the way that I I combat fear. So, like you were saying, like every follower of Jesus has the supernatural ability to turn anxiety, to turn fear into prayer. Like, that is the most practical thing you can do. Like, you can either sit in your fear and you can be afraid all the time, or you can go to the one who holds all things. And so that's kind of I would say how I have like dealt with fear.

SPEAKER_04 15:07

Something something that I've heard a lot lately of is when you look through scripture and even 2 Timothy 1 7, it ends with self-control, or when you see the fruits of the Spirit, the very last one is self-control. And I think the biggest, especially in students' life, because I've been a student before, I've I've walked through those seasons. It's like the biggest moments I feel like where fear creeps in is when you try to control other things besides yourself. For example, like you could you try to control like what happens in your future or like what friends you have in college and what you're looking forward to. You try you say, I want to do this, and then if that doesn't work out, then you're like, oh my gosh, like God hates me. And it's just like all these things just begin to creep in, but it's like the Bible says, Hey, let me have everything else. Okay? Like kind of like the airport thing that you just said, it's like control like what like your thoughts, take every thought captive. But when you talk about having control, have control for yourself and let God do everything else. Because the moment that you allow the world to do everything else for you, that's the moment because trust me, I'm an overthinker, and that's the worst, that's the worst thing for people that are fearful. Is because you just you think of something and then you think of ten other ways in that, and then a hundred other ways in those, and it's just like it just keeps on going, and that's how the biggest way the fear comes in.

SPEAKER_02 16:17

So I'm glad you said that about self-control, because I was gonna talk about the verse Isaiah 26, 3. Somebody share that with me, like right when I needed it, and it says, You'll keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on. Well, this says whose mind is stayed on you. My other version says those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you. And I think about that word like steadfast of just having control over my mind, like at the end of the day, like I can control that. Like I can control what, like you said, what lands there, what leaves, whatever comes into it. And I guess also part of that comes from just guarding your heart and your mind from things too. Like if the news makes you really anxious and fearful, don't look at the news. Or I mean, you can still find out what's going on from people and things like that, or you know, if you've like set boundaries for yourself, I think that helps me keep my mind steadfast. So think about that word steadfast, and how do I keep my mind there? And if I can constantly keep my mind steadfast and focused on the Lord and keeping my eyes on Christ, like because I trust in him, then that is when I I feel like I get that peace too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:22

And I would say if you're somebody that's just struggling with fear, I would say really take control of your eyes, your ears, and your feet. Those three things can lead you to faith or they can lead you to fear every single time. One of the most powerful things that my counselors taught me to do is if I'm in a moment, just like Cam was talking about, and I'm just spiraling. And like I said, my you know, story of the mission trip, I was like, just panicking. One of the best things I can do is change my environment. Go on a walk, get out of the, you know, just go get out of the house, read scripture, just start praying out loud. There is something, I don't know if y'all feel like this too. When I pray out loud, just the environment changes. It's like I'm just continuing to vocalize my trust in the Lord. And that has been so helpful for me when I spiral into fear is okay, Lord, let me just take, like Kat Camden said, 2 Corinthians 10, take every thought captive, put it to the submission of Jesus Christ. And then now what you're doing is you're actively fighting back. You are living out Ephesians 6, knowing that your fight is not against flesh and blood, but it's against the evil powers, principalities, the unseen things of the world. And I would just say with that, you know, just start having in your tool belt just some things to be able to fight back to the enemy, scripture, like Avery said, prayer, getting just doing something different, inviting a friend into that space. You know, getting up and moving and changing your environment gets you out of that rut. If you're like Morgan, it's two o'clock in the morning. Okay, get up, go to the bathroom, go get a snack, just do something different. Stand up. I told Sydney this. Sometimes I'll just stand up in my bedroom and I'll just start walking around my bench, start praying, you know. And I think sometimes when you see it and other people, you're able to identify it. But when it's in yourself, it's a little bit harder. My one quick story, and I'll promise I'll shut up. My dog struggles with anxiety, any but any girl. And she last night, oh my word, there was a thunderstorm, and she just freaking and she's just like, Mom, I'm gonna die. I'm like, You are fine. It's thunder. She said that's her voice. Maybe y'all communicate. Everybody has a voice for what they're they think their dog sounds like. That's fine. Anyways, she's just freaking out, and I just every time I see her freak out, I think to myself, that is me. That is me when I get into a cycle of fear. And he isn't literally more. Exactly. And I just look at her and I'm like, that's me. If I continue to live in my strength and my power, that is me. But when I activate the faith and the power of Christ, you can overcome that, not in your own strength, but because of him and who he is and what he has given you your power, your authority, that he's given you in the spirit. And I think people, fearful Christians, are forgetting you have power, you have authority taken back in Jesus' name. Fear doesn't have to be your definition. Your definition is who God is and who he's made you to be.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

Yeah, and I think fear in my life like has trained me to believe that I'm the only one that can fight for myself. Like it kind of, like you said, it isolates you, it makes you feel like you're you're the only one that can fight for yourself. But I think in Matthew 6, that's kind of the chapter where Jesus is like, hey, don't worry about tomorrow. Consider the lilies, consider the birds, all the things. But the very next verse says, But seek first the kingdom of God. Like that that is nothing I can do. He didn't say, Avery, go fix your fear. He said, No, no, no, seek first my kingdom. That's right. And that that's just interesting to me that that comes straight after where he's talking about not worrying. And so, like, fear has trained you to believe that you're the only one that can fight for yourself, but no, like seek first the kingdom, like let the one that has overcome the world fight for you.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

And then right after that, he says, it says, and he will give you everything that you need. Like he truly knows every little thing that you need, and it's far greater than what you think you need. Like we think we need this and that, and then we get to maybe wherever you're walking through, and you're on the other side of it, and you're like, wait, but he gave me what I needed in that moment. I may not have felt it in that moment, but he gave that to me. And I was thinking about Proverbs uh 16, 9, and it talks about how the heart of a man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps. And I think it's important to get to a place of like you can fear and you can worry, and I'm guilty of it too. But ultimately, like it is the Lord's plan, like he knows every single step that's gonna happen, he knows everything that is gonna happen to us in our lives, and it's like obviously, like, like it says, we can still make our plans, we can still take steps, we can still do the things, but it is the Lord who establishes those things.