Intentional Encouragement

     Fear is a powerful foe. It comes in varying forms and different degrees. Fear often takes what could be and treats it as though it is what will be.      Some people are more fearful by nature than others. Some struggle with genuine disorders related to fear like panic attacks. Others have had a difficult experience in their past that affects them deeply whenever a similar situation arises in the future. Fears vary between men and women. Here are some common fears that people experience: Public speaking Spiders Terrorism Snakes Failure Flying      For you it may be several of these. Or it may be a whole new list. The topic of fear is so large that a simple post such as this can never hope to address all aspects of it.      I would like to suggest a verse of Scripture and a few thoughts that can help us as we face some of the more "daily" sorts of fears. I'm speaking about things like the fear of the future...

     "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:10)      As a whole, our country is in high stress mode, don't you think? We've had uprisings and protests. We've watched division grow and the economy shrink. We've seen 2 hurricanes come through in a short span of time and bring billions of dollars worth of destruction. If we weren't personally impacted by those storms, most of us personally know someone who was.      On a more local level, many around us are facing storms in their lives. I've talked with personal friends in the last 2 days who have family members battling cancer. Our church family has faced the funeral of a 5 year old girl who died from the awful disease just a week ago.      Personally, our immediate family has had 2 ER visits in the last month and a half, 2 surgeries in the last 4 months and other assorted stresses and pressures beside...