Dear Self,

Stop. Stop living in fear. It changes the way you walk. You know this. You. know. this. Remember the frog? It seems silly, but it's the perfect illustration of this principle. It stopped you from moving.

[I should explain the frog comment. I am terrified of frogs. Just seeing one makes my stomach turn and one night, not too long ago, I came home late and right in front of the steps to my house, there was a frog. A big, nasty, gross frog. And it stopped me in my tracks. I'm embarrassed to tell you how long I stood outside my house strategically planning how I was going to get in. I'm also embarrassed to tell you that for weeks after, I only stepped in certain spots just in case the frog was around. I'm sure I looked crazy to my neighbors. But I digress...]

Fear does that. It paralyzes you, but it's contrary to love. Because love does. (Thank you Bob Goff). The word does implies action. It means you're doing something. You're called to be a doer of the Word (James 1:22). Stop fearing so you can move. You've got dreams. Huge, crazy world changing dreams. And even though, they are huge and crazy, they aren't impossible. You've got influence that you aren't walking in because you're stopped. Go.

You want to know the remedy to fear? Love. Perfect Love casts out fear. God is love and God is light. Remember that whole frog story? You walk differently when the outside light is on. When you can see the dark for what it really is. It's the same principle with fear. When you shine some light on in, it looks differently- the Life Light blazed out of the darkness and the darkness could not put it out.

Hold your fears up to the light, Truax.

The fears that scream at you that you won't be adequate. You'll never be enough.You aren't going to matter.You will fail.You are all alone.There's someone better than you to do it. It's too big, you can't do it.

Those thoughts will stop you. Those thoughts will paralyze you. Those thoughts will get you nowhere- they are rooted in fear. Stop and shine the light on them. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. God's plans for you are for you to prosper and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future. You. It says you. It means you.You might fail, but the righteous fall seven times and rise again. And when you are weak, He is strong. He will never leave you or forsake you- You aren't alone. There's someone better than you to do it? Okay Moses, tell that to the people who won't get let go. And nothing is too big for the Lord.

Stop. Just stop. Stop focusing on your fears. Because your fears are all about you. And it's not about you. It's never been about you. Stop focusing on the fact that you can't, you won't, and you aren't and start focusing on the fact that HE IS. He is strong when you are weak. He is more than enough when you fall short. He is faithful when you are faithless. His ways are higher than your ways and His plans are greater than your plans. It's not about you. It's all about Him. He doesn't make broken lives beautiful so that we can look good- lives are made beautiful so that when people look at us, they see Him. It's not about you. The reality is that when you fall flat on your face and when you are at your lowest, He shines the brightest. When it's evident that you have no strength left and you're weary, every step you take points to Him because it is not on your strength you are rising. It's on His.

Truth be told, You aren't ever going to measure up. You're always going to fall short. But stop focusing on that. Stop fearing that, because Perfect Love has come and said that His grace is sufficient for You. And when Perfect Love comes, fear can't stay.

 You have to stop, before you go go.