“For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who says to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you.’” Isaiah 41:13 

I’ve been known to say more than once, “I can be spontaneous, you just have to give me a little notice”. This is said with a smile, but there is more truth to it than I prefer to admit sometimes. I REALLY like to know what’s next…and what’s after that. And, let’s be honest, I want to know every little detail of the next few “after that’s”, after that. 

When I don’t know all the facts, or I feel things are happening outside my control, I can panic pretty quickly. Panic becomes negativity, which becomes discouragement, which can circle back to fear. I can react in a flurry of emotions before I remember to use God’s lens of looking at the world and my circumstances.

There are over 350 verses in the Bible that address fear, the key verse is just one of them. When I read these verses, my first instinct is to berate myself for having fear. I think to myself, if my faith were stronger, I wouldn’t have fear. But, rather than chastising myself when I feel fear, I need to remember that the “Fear not” doesn’t simply mean: don’t have fear, it more specifically states that I don’t have to be afraid. Someone else has this, whatever “this” is. God is with me through it all. He is my strength and my source of wisdom and hope. I don’t have to be afraid because He is with me, He loves me, and He will help me. 

Faith over fear means I don’t have to control everything in order to lessen my anxiety. Every moment doesn’t have to be orchestrated perfectly by me to achieve peace. I can trust in the creator and controller of the universe, and contrary to my belief otherwise, I don’t have to design each situation in order for God’s perfect plan to be carried out. I don’t always have to be in the driver’s seat in order to get to where I’m supposed to be going. 

I can be a passenger as long as I am allowing God to be the driver. Submitting to God rather than submitting to self, and my desire to control. Trusting God rather than my well-planned itinerary. This is a tall order for someone who has “driven” her whole life (even as a toddler, I had very clear ideas about how things should be, or so I’ve been told). But, what I’ve learned after following God for a couple of decades, is His plan is always better than mine. I just need reminders of that from time to time, a gentle nudge to scoot on over to the passenger seat and not give so much driving advice. 

Father,  I want to peacefully sit back and adore the view and experiences you provide. I want to cheerfully go where you take me. Open my eyes to the scenery you’ve created just for me. Thank you that you’ve planned an amazing “trip” just for me. Help me submit to you today and every day. Help me hear your promptings of where you want me to go. Let me learn to trust your map and not try to jump back into the driver’s seat. Remind me that You’ve got this because You are with me, You love me, You help me, and because of this, I can fear not… You are driving!