Fear.

Fear is such a strange concept.  People can be afraid of things as small as spiders or things as big as hurricanes, and it has always baffled me...the mere fact that we can get ourselves so worked-up and anxious about things is just bizarre! For me, I'm absolutely terrified of thunderstorms. Some people love them and want to be outside during a downpour, but I get really freaked out. I get anxious and nervous and I'm not even sure why....I've never had any bad experiences with storms. But even when I was younger, I remember going over to my best friend Jynni's house on nights it was storming and we'd have a sleepover to keep each other "safe". It made us feel better just knowing we could both be scared together.
Keeping all this in mind, today there was a tornado watch and a thunderstorm outside...and I was terrified. I was so anxious sitting by the window while lightning was streaking across the sky that I had to get up and walk around in order to keep myself distracted. I found a spot in the library since you can't see or hear the storm from there, and I went on my laptop. I logged into Twitter and was scrolling down my homepage, when lo and behold I saw a post I had written merely 3 hours prior. I had completely forgotten that I posted it....It read, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. -1 Peter 5:7." I'm so terrible at taking my own advice! Here I am Tweeting about casting our anxiety on the Lord, but then freaking out about thunder and lightening a few hours later. There is no fear in the Lord! He says in Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." There is nothing to be afraid of when you have God by your side. It's no accident that I read that Tweet when I did. It was just the reminder I needed that God is always in control.
My favorite verse comes from Psalm 18:2. It says "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety..." So there's honestly no need to fear something as small as a thunderstorm. It may seem big at the time, but it's NOTHING when compared to how big and strong my God is! He's the ROCK that saves me! This doesn't mean that I'm instantly cured from my fear...because quite frankly, I'm still scared pantsless of storms. But this definitely does help me feel better about the whole thing. And who knows, maybe saying these verses the next time there's a storm can help me conquer my fear all together. :)