One of my favorite priests told me recently, “you become what you fear.”
We were talking about the fears I have relating to my suffering.
The fears that plague me. The fears that eat at me. The fears that could control me–if I let them.
But I recoginize the fear for what it is . . . .sin. Yes, this fear is so powerful. But it boils down to a lack of trust in God.
“Don’t let it turn you into someone you don’t want to be,” he said.
Because that’s what fear does to us. It eats at us. It paralyzes us. It makes us try to control situations or people that are beyond our control. All because we are so afraid of life not going the way we had planned.
But if we can just trust God, then we know we will be okay no matter what.
So much of handling suffering well boils down to trusting God-believing God’s word and His promise.
Then we know we will be okay no matter what.
I don’t think that means it won’t hurt. But it does mean we don’t have to be afraid.
St. John Chrysostom wrote:
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We heard that at Mass on Friday and I forgot my mental note to look up that quote from St. John. Thank you! I agree completely. We waste so much time and energy worrying and if we just took a bit longer quietly with God to get to the root, the fear, we can rationally think through it with Him and realize like you said. 1.He is in control and 2. It really isn’t as bad as we think.
My worst fear I finally confronted at my last Spiritual Exercises and confessed it. It took a few months but it’s all worked out perfectly because I finally followed His lead.I would have saved a lot of time if I’d just taken His lead from the beginning but it’s these journeys that we learn the most from. You are learning sooooo much and will have so much to share to help others. Wait, you’re already helping AND inspiring so many.
Thanks Kay. Fear is such a powerful tool of Satan to control us and make us take our eyes off God. Sometimes we don’t even realize . . . .spiritual exercises–and our paths of suffering–can be good tools to help us truly see and refocus!