As far as creepy-crawly things go, I don't mind bugs. I don't even really mind snakes, but the one thing I cannot stand and that creep me out are things that jump. So, when my apartment became infested with camel crickets I was more than irritated. They started appearing everywhere and one day I stepped into the shower and lo and behold one was sitting there. If you haven't seen these things, just google them. They aren't harmful, but they are HUGE. So obviously, I'm not going to take a shower with this huge cricket looming in the tub, and the logical thing to do is to drown it. The problem is, it wouldn't drown. I kept pouring water over it and it continued to hop everywhere other than where I wanted to go: the drain. Finally, it went down the drain and I could continue on with life in peace. However, recently as I've been getting into the shower, I turn the knob to make the water hotter and this sound comes out that sounds like a chirp. Now, there is a 100% chance it's not the dead cricket I killed long before then because 1. There's no way it's still alive after like 2 months and 2. Camel crickets can't even chirp! But what do I think it is every time those pipes creak? The cricket.

Unfortunately, that's the mildest irrational fear I have. So many other fears in my life, and I imagine the lives of many others, are completely irrational but feel and seem so real. Why do we run although we know it's not real? Why do we dwell when we know there's no truth in it at all? I believe Soloman had the answer to this in Proverbs when he said,

"The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions." - Proverbs 28:1 (NLT)

We run because that's our instinct. When something scares us, no matter what it is or how rational it is, our instinct is to run. But that's not what the verse suggests we as Christians should do; that's what the verse suggests that the wicked do. Why? Because they don't have the Lord to run to. The verse suggests that as believers we should be bold as lions because we have the hope and protection of our God.

So I can stop my blog post here right? Easy enough? You guys got it right?

Wrong. I know from firsthand experience that this is so much more complicated that that.

We read that verse and we see the comparison to a lion and think, "Well duh yeah! Lions aren't scared of anything!" I don't believe that to be true either. If you were to perform a quick youtube search I'm sure you could find multiple instances from nature where lions have been seen to be fearful and run from something. But what I want to focus on right now is a specific character and that's the cowardly lion.

In "The Wizard of Oz", the cowardly lion acts as his own walking oxymoron. As the audience we find him intriguing and quite honestly comical because, "He's a lion he's not supposed to be scared of anything! How ridiculous is he?!" Isn't that how we sometimes treat Christians? We see Christians huddled over in extreme fear over something and to us it looks ridiculous because, "They're a Christian, they're not supposed to be scared of anything!" but instead of helping and walking through it with them, we patronize them for their lack of faith.

So ok. Does that make us as believers wicked if we run from something that we fear? I don't think so. I think it makes us confused and that leads us to one culprit: the enemy.

One of the enemy's biggest ploys is confusion and it's one he does well. The enemy will plant and twist and pervert so much that you get to the point where you can no longer see reality in your irrational fear because a lot of times his claims are lies but have a small thread of truth in them that we entertain and ponder.

So why aren't we able to claim victory? Why can't we just rebuke them and walk away? Why is it so hard? I think one huge reason for this struggle is that the enemy attacks our identity and makes us forget who we are.

I think even Jesus faced this when He was being tempted in the desert.

"During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” - Matthew 4:3-4 (NLT)[emphasis added]

What is the first thing he says before he even delivers his suggestion? "If you are the Son of God."

The devil will ALWAYS question your character, your calling, and who you are in Christ. And he's sneaky because he will do it when your irrational fear becomes so real that you can no longer see or know who you are.

But luckily, Jesus was fully human but also fully God and He knew how to combat it. Yes He replaced and debunked Satan's lie with scripture, but it was effective because He was confident in who He was.

This is where our boldness comes in from Proverbs. If we go back to the cowardly lion, we see that at the end he becomes courageous when he realizes who he is. Lions in nature are the most confident when they know that they are able to devour whatever threatens them. And Jesus, our true Lion, was able to stand up to the ploys of the enemy when He was confident in who He was and what God called Him to do.

So I won't be the one to suggest that you should just try to be more confident and hope for the best. No. Pray to the Lord and ask Him to help you remember who you are, what He's called you to do, and who you are in Him. Then, as you start to understand that, write it down, own it, and enter into the boldness that the Lord intended for those that love Him.