Fear Traps, Trust Frees
Nothing prepared me for what I saw when my little girl started preschool during COVID-19. Little mouths and noses were covered with masks. Little ones stood outside the school building, eyes filled with confusion and uncertainty. Mamas stood there holding their little ones close, wondering if they should turn around and return to their car. We stood waiting for our child to be escorted into the building by a stranger in a mask.
To make matters worse, it rained that day. As I stood in the rain looking at my little girl in her polka dot, pink mask, and feeling like the worst mama in the world, I began to doubt everything! Along with all the tears and all the feels, questions started rushing through my mind. What am I doing? Will she pass out from wearing a mask for two and a half hours? What if she gets sick? What if she’s scared? Whose idea was this anyway? At that moment, I struggled. I struggled to trust that my little girl was going to be ok.
Fear has a way of trapping our hearts, especially when it comes to the things we care about - our family, our children, our spouse, even our future. We want to trust. We need to trust. But there are times when fear grips us, making trust almost impossible.
In Proverbs 29:25, King Solomon writes, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” In this small but powerful verse, we find two contrasting outcomes. The first one is driven by fear. It is a harsh reality as to what happens when we trust anyone or anything other than God. It reminds us of the danger of allowing anyone or anything to become bigger than our God. The moment we allow the very thing we are scared of to trap us, claiming power over our heart, controlling our emotions, and dictating our behavior, is when we lose and fear wins.
But we don’t have to let fear become our story. We can choose the second outcome. We can choose trust. We can trust the One who has proven to be trustworthy again and again. We can allow God to be bigger and greater than our fears. The result of choosing to trust the Lord is not only freeing but also the very thing that will keep us dry and above water when we feel like we are drowning.
On that rainy day, as I headed back to my car, I decided that my little girl was safe not because I trusted her teacher, the mask she wore that day, or even the little hand sanitizer that I placed in her backpack. No, she was safe because of who I put my trust in—the God who holds everything in the palm of His hands. And if the whole world was safe in His hands, then truly, my little girl was going to be okay.
Questions for Reflection:
- When you are tempted to fear, how do you normally respond and why do you think this might be the case?
- Do you struggle with trusting people or even trusting God? How does fear factor into your struggle to trust and why?
- What are some practical ways you can combat fear when it arises in your life? What steps is God calling you to take today to overcome fear?
