The Choice: Beating Fear with Its Own Worst Enemy

Jerusha: I’m delighted to welcome blogger and inspirational fiction author, Mary Felkins, as my guest today! Please join me in giving her a big FW community welcome!

By Mary Felkins

I’ve often wondered if maybe my mom made the wrong decision that day when I was in middle school. You see, she’d taken me shopping for some new clothes. After we agreed on a few things, these two sweaters caught my eye. “Pick one.”

Bless her. She’d made herself abundantly clear.

But I held two.

She pursed her lips.

And just as her gaze softened a bit I held those two sweaters higher. This time with a jut of my chin and a hopeful brow inched high.

With a sigh, she acquiesced.

And I came home the proud owner of both sweaters.

Not so with God. His Word is clear.

Without faith it is impossible to please god. – Hebrews 11:6

Code for, “You can’t have fear and faith, child. You have to choose.”

So, no more digging my nails into fear (sweater one) while I grasp for faith (sweater two).

Over recent years, my husband and I have faced increasing financial difficulty. Despite an impressive amount of prayer from friends and family, God has yet to relieve the burden. All along, I’ve tended toward the sunny disposition side of things while my husband’s eyes have rounded, wondering in greater measure, “How will we ever get out of this mess?”

I was the cheerleader and he the defeated one.

Until a few months back…

Unbeknownst to me, fear had niggled its way into my impregnable castle of faith and began to knock bricks away, replacing my smile with an ugly pout and sob sessions. I felt myself crumble emotionally as I gave into…well, just what was this crazy emotion, anyway?

Fear.

My chest heaved with short breaths. Tears like minions sprang forth, mocking the situation, daring me to give up.

To believe God was not good.

I found myself back in middle school, clutching two sweaters, wanting both, and unable to loosen my hold of either.

In a moment of weakness, I joined the pity party mentality and lamented, “How will we ever get out of this mess?”

Then I heard,

Trust in Me at all times.

Then I heard it again. And again.

As a wholly perfect and loving parent, God didn’t – and doesn’t – yield.

“Fear or faith. You can’t have both.”

If we should choose to grasp tightly to faith, it leaves no wiggle room for fear.

And choose we must.

Trust in Him at all times, O people. Psalm 62:8a

Here are a few practical ways to live this out:

1) When fear strikes – and it will – repeat the scripture over and over….Trust in Him at all times, trust in Him at all times, trust in Him at all times. It’s really okay to claim this aloud while at the checkout line at WalMart. The cashier might cast a wary glance, but maybe she needs to hear the reason for such a bold proclamation.

2) Pay attention to the physical symptoms of fear. Heart racing, breathing labored, forehead beaded in sweat. In those moments, claim the truth. Let it seep into your brain, steady the rhythm of your heart while fear flees the scene.

3) And remember…

Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7

Imagining Satan fleeing like a frightened child is amusing. It puts his real character in perspective and can make us wonder why we let him lure us down fear’s highway in the first place.

Fear. Faith. Can’t have both.

Which will you choose?

Are you trying to hold onto both fear and faith? Has faith helped you defeat fear in a situation? Please share!

---

Mary A. Felkins is a contributor to writers’ blogs and on-line magazines. Her debut, inspirational romance novel, Call To Love, (www.pelicanbookgroup) will be released November 15^th, 2019. (www.maryfelkins.com/books) The completed cover anxiously awaits being partnered with the story behind it. She is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary Agency.

Raised in Houston, Texas – and forever a Lone Star girl – she and her husband Bruce moved to the foothills of North Carolina in 1997. They have four (adolescent to young adult-sized) arrows in her quiver. She can be lured from her writing cave if presented with a large, unopened bag of Pnut M&Ms or to watch Fixer Upper. A surprise appearance by her teen idol, Donny Osmond, would also do the trick, although she’d likely pass out.

If, upon introduction, she likes your first or last name, expect to see it show up in one of her novels.

To follow Mary’s Musings each week and receive quarterly book news via email, join other #Felkinsfans at www.maryfelkins.com.

Connect with Mary on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

---

CALL TO LOVE – Coming November 15, 2019

What if saying yes to love means trusting the kind of man you said you’d never marry? What if pursuing a woman’s heart means restoring a painful past?

Tracy Cassidy, a fiercely independent ED nurse, must choose between her dream job or staying in her hometown to help support her mother’s faltering ministry. Even if it means risking her heart in love with the kind of man she said she’d never marry. Why sign up to be Laurelton’s next cop widow?

Tom DeLaney, a hyper-vigilant cop and new hire from Texas, is wearied by years of failed rescue attempts to save his marriage to his ex. A free man, he moves to the foothills of North Carolina and hadn’t expected to fall for Tracy, his supervisor’s sister. But when his adolescent son is diagnosed with a chronic illness, he faces the risk of loving another woman with keep-out issues.

Fears related to the death of Tracy’s cop father and Tom’s inability to forgive the past threaten to sabotage any chance at love.

To trust again means surrender. Will they risk their hearts and answer the call?