In 2006, I had my first experience of using the canopy bridge. Prior to that, I heard all sorts of stories about the bridge. In fact, all of us who went to use the bridge were psychologically hoping to be scared. We were in fear even before climbing the bridge. My younger brother was the first to step on the bridge. He was around 6 years old at that time. He fearlessly ran across the bridge shaking the 130 feet walkway. That act took away my fears but scared many of the children on the walkway. I had a great experience and took many beautiful pictures. On the other hand, those who were afraid and cried all the way (because they couldn’t turn back) took teary and scared-face looking pictures. The fact that we were all afraid prior to visiting the canopy bridge reveals the extent to which fear can cause harm even when the object of fear is not in view. Fear of height also known as acrophobia is just one of the many fears that we deal with in life. My daughter expressed great fear of insects (entomophobia) and that made her so scared. Thankfully, she does not react to insects hysterically as she used to do. Others have extreme fear of spiders (arachnophobia), some fear strangers (xenophobia), others are afraid of fear itself (phobophobia) and the lists goes on and on. Fear can make you weak and vulnerable. It can cause anxiety and depression. It can bring people to a condition of staying away from things or people. It can cause people to be violent towards others who are not like them (e.g. xenophobic people can hurt others). How do we deal with the spirit of fear? While helping our daughter to overcome fear, we realized that helping her to memorize and understand 2 Timothy 1:7 helped a lot. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV) When we know that God has not given us a spirit of fear, we walk with boldness. When we encounter situations that should trigger fear and worry, we should be encouraged knowing that God has given us a spirit of power. When people seem unlovable, we should know that we have been given a spirit of love. When situations give us sleeplessness, anxiety and depression, we should know that we have been given a spirit of sound mind. Knowledge of these should act as a filter for what enters our hearts. When you know that God has not made you a coward, you do not entertain unnecessary thoughts that lead to fear. The Holy Spirit gives us power to stand our ground against any thought that brings fear. The Holy Spirit brings boldness and grants us the intense love for lost souls. Whenever the devil reminds us to be afraid, we should remind him of our position in the Lord. Even when fear steps in, we put our trust in God (Psalm 56:3).
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