Erin C. Peters

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient or you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
              2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Fear. It’s crippling, immobilizing, and suffocating. It can keep us from doing things we should and causes us to react in ways we cannot control. Left unguarded and unchecked, fear can spread like wildfire in our hearts.

For too long I have lived trapped by a variety of fears. Giving up control, failure, rejection, weakness and the list could go on and on.

As I tackle this issue of fear in my life, I sought help in the Bible. Does it have anything to say directly against my fears? Some of them, yes, but one passage in particular stood out to me.

In the passages above, Paul reminds us of Jesus’ words on grace. But it was more the words on my weakness that drew me in. You see, I can’t stand to be thought of as weak. But I am. I can’t stand to be thought of as a failure. But I am. I can’t stand to be known for lack of self-control. But I am.

But Paul takes my weaknesses and holds them up to the power of Christ in me. So while I am a weak, control-freak who hates to fail, Christ’s power has given me strength. I just need to live in that power so that through my fears, or weaknesses, that Christ can truly display His power.

So no matter what may come, I will delight in my weaknesses because I am weak, He is strong. Though the fear may immobilize me, it ultimately causes me to turn to Christ and rely on His power
in amazing ways.

How is He using your fears?