THE FEAR BOX
Once upon a time there was a fearful little girl. She was afraid of things that went bump in the night. She was afraid of the monsters that lived under her bed. She was afraid of snakes and dogs and any animal that could harm her. But most of all, she was afraid of death. At night she would pull the covers over her head and lie in fear until the morning light. She would check under her bed for the monsters before getting into bed each night. She even feared that she would go to hell if she died before she awoke. She had said the sinner’s prayer and had accepted Jesus into her heart, but she was afraid she may not have said it right. So, night after night she repeated the sinner’s prayer.
As the little girl grew, she found that if she put all her fears in a box, it was so much easier to live. So, when the fears came up, she just put them in her fear box and ignored them. Every now and then she would take them out and play with them. But then she would hide them away in her fear box, and not think about them again until something happened in her life that reminded her of them.
As the years went by, the fear box kept getting bigger and bigger. She found new fears to hide away in the fear box. A big fear was her fear of disappointing people, and especially of disappointing God. Her fear of failure kept her from trying anything new. Her fear of people’s rejection kept her from forming meaningful relationships. And her fear of what God might do to her kept her from enjoying a close relationship with Him.
And then it happened. The inevitable illness. The biopsy…the wait for the results. And her fears became so big that they would not fit in the box. There was nowhere to hide them. In tears and shaking with fear, she fell on her knees and pleaded with God to take the box of fears from her.
“Oh, My child,” the Father said. “I have tried to take the box of fears from you so many times. But you would not trust in My love for you. You would never let go of it. I am so glad you are ready to let go. Trust Me. I love you.”
So, the little girl that lived inside the woman, lifted up the box to her Heavenly Father and finally let go of it. The Father reached down and took the box. It disintegrated in His hands. In its place, the Father handed the little girl a box of peace filled with all of His promises.
“Now, my child,” the Father said. “Whenever the fears attack your mind, reach into My peace box and take one of my promises into your heart. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
And the little girl inside the woman found peace at last. She lived from then on trusting in the God that loved her. Whenever she felt the fears try to overtake her again, she would run to her box of promises. And His peace would overcome the fears.
Psalm 56: 3,4 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?
ONCE UPON A TIME 