Bellarmine University
Don’t Be Limited By Fear
Rev. Ronald Knott
September 6, 2015
Say to those whose hearts are frightened: “Be strong!
Fear not!”
Isaiah 35:4-7a
I have spoken these words from Isaiah the
prophet to myself for most of my life because fear has had a tendency to be a
ruling force throughout my life. Battling fear is still part of my everyday
life! The world can be a scary place sometimes. The words of Isaiah are, for
that reason, words we all need to take to heart and reflect on seriously.
When Isaiah first spoke these words to the
people of tiny kingdom of Judah, they were basically surrounded by the powerful
Assyrian empire which was swallowing up all their towns surrounding Jerusalem.
Even in the face of imminent destruction, the prophet calls the people to face
their fears and to know that, in the end, God’s faithfulness to them would
triumph, even in the face of collapse and captivity by their enemies.
With all that going on around them, he says to them, “Be strong! Fear
not!”
It still happens after all these years. I
get on a plane by myself heading out to some far-flung diocese to face hundreds
of priests and realize that I am overcome with fear and doubt – fear of
rejection and doubt about my capabilities.
Even though I haven’t had a disaster yet,
on the contrary appreciative acceptance, I have to talk myself up and my demons
down every time I take off on another speaking trip. I can still remember
being paralyzed by that same fear and doubt before opening the box my first
published book arrived in – fear of rejection and doubt about my ability.
I have come to believe that many of us
never become all we could become because of two things. (1) We are intimidated
by the judging voices of others we can't, we shouldn't and we mustn't. (2) We
are intimidated by our own criticizing, self-doubting voice. Both voices
say basically the same thing. “Who are you to do such and such? Who do you think
you are, anyway? These
demons must be slain or we will end up “settling” for a life marked by
dullness, quiet desperation, resentment or even rage. Angelina Jolie said this,
“If you
ask people what they've always wanted to do, most people haven't done it. That
breaks my heart.”
The secret to true personal freedom is the
ability to face our fears, to stand up to our own cowardice and to do hard
things for our own good. What I have learned from years of doing those things
is that you end up amazed at the great things that will come to you, if you do!
Another thing I have learned is that it
takes an amazing amount of concentration of the will to overcome the embedded
negative messages we carry from childhood The good news is that with dedicated
practice it is indeed possible to silence those messages and rob them of their
power. I believe I am where I am today, able to do what I do, because of
my determination to not allow fear and doubt to control me. I am very happy
that, with God's help and my willingness to keep trying, I was able to overpower
my own crippling messages!
The third thing I have learned is that
there is wisdom out there that is available to us about overcoming fear and
self-doubt that others can share with us. As you know, I collect motivational
quotes and I regularly share some of my favorites on this subject in hopes that
you can learn from them as well.
Fear probably defeats more people than any
other one thing in the world. I once read that F-E-A-R stands for “fantasy
events appearing real.” I read somewhere else that, statistically, about 90% of
the things we worry about never happen, so Jesus was right, "fear is
useless, what is needed is trust." How we handle fear determines whether
we experience adventure or whether we are limited by the fear of it. Without
scary, we don’t get to be brave!
I would say that my life has been enriched
every time I have gotten up the guts to look fear in the face and say “No, you
are not going to run my life! I may fail, I may get hurt, I may be laughed at,
but again I might not, so once and for all be gone!” I had to stand down fear
when I left home to go to the seminary at fourteen.I had to wrestle fear all
throughout seminary so that I could stay in. I refused to be ruled by fear when
I decided to be ordained, when I got my first, second, third, fourth, fifth and
sixth assignment. I have had to deal with fear when I decided to retire and,
because I refuse to stop growing and changing, I still have to deal with it. I
deal with it by saying "no" to it in the most firm voice I can!
"What do you mean, I can't do it? Watch me!"
Students! The words of Isaiah today are
spoke to you as well! ‘Be strong! Fear not!” Do not listen to the
discounting voices of those who do not believe in you! Do not listen to that
discounting voice in your own head that does not believe in you! Tell them both
to shut up and listen instead to God’s voice in your own heart – that tiny
whispering voice that gets drowned out in the noise of the world – that tiny
whispering voice that you may not be able to hear because of the noisy,
negative self-talk that comes out of other people's mouths or goes on in your
own head – that tiny whispering voice of God who is telling you not to fear,
but to be strong!
Take it from one who has been there! God
has great plans for you – he wants to take you to places who cannot even
imagine for yourself! Do not let fear hold you back, wherever its source, from
becoming who you really are and who you can become - your true self! Henry Ford
may have said it best when he said, “Those who think they can and those who
think they can’t are both right!
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