Frightened by Fear.

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Thanks for the great discussion last week about our "short-end-of-the-stick".  If we are really going to subdue and rule our worlds as women, we first need to acknowledge that our position is not the problem. It's our perspective.

But we need more than that.  We need to conquer our fears.  In the current chapter I'm reading, Chanski is giving examples from the Old Testament of the Bible about women who had more than a "quiet and gentle spirit" (I Peter 3).  They had guts. Determination. Perseverance.  They probably had fears but moved forward in spite of them.  These women are amazing!  One of them is Sarah, Abraham's wife. Now, before we go on listing things she did wrong...we must acknowledge what she did right.  She followed her husband in his call to go somewhere else, uprooted her family and moved to a new, crazy land! Chanski illustrates this out of 1 Peter 3:3-6,

"But Peter does highlight a specific strength in Sarah namely, her subduing and ruling over her fears.  This is a fundamental battle for any woman. Panic attacks are a common affliction in stressful times.  Sarah is a heroine worthy of imitation, for instead of fretting and surrendering, she managed to "hope in God" and "do what is right without being frightened by fear." 

Fear can be paralyzing.  It can stop me from doing little things and it can definitely stop me from doing big things. But the Bible calls women to recognize their fears and move forward in spite of them.  We are called to have faith where fear wants to cripple us.

What fears do you have in moving forward in your life?
Why do we, as women, have such a hard time conquering fears?