Leashing Fear

Exodus 1: 9-14 “And he (Pharoah) said to his people, “Behold, the people of Isreal are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land. Therefore they set taskmaster over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They build for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Isreal. So they ruthlessly made the people of Isreal work as slaves and made their lives putter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.”

“What if…” questions plague my mind daily. Does that happen to you too? When we meet Pharoah in this first chapter of Exodus, he is having the same ‘What if’ thoughts. He was worried about the people of Isreal- God’s people. In verse 7, Exodus tells us that the people of Isreal were a fast-growing and strong group of people. However, they were not a threat to Pharoah, or to Egypt. But, Pharoah was so paranoid about them possibly being a threat, that he started to oppress them and then made them slaves.

If you’ve heard the story of Moses before, then you know what happens next. In Pharoah’s attempt to keep the people of Isreal oppressed, he decides to have all of the male babies of killed. And yet Moses, a child of Isreal, ends up becoming a part of Pharoah’s court as a baby, and then eventually is the one that leads the people of Isreal out of Egypt.

We can all agree that what Pharoah does is EXTREME to hold onto his power and make sure that his perceived threat is taken care of. Making people slaves and then killing babies is the definition of going WAY too far. And while I don’t go to this extreme, I can identify with the Pharoah in this situation. It feels like such an ugly truth to admit in writing, but I’m Pharoah!

When I perceive a threat, my anxiety, my fear, and a completely illogical part of my brain take over and compels me to do things that are irrational. What rational person restricts food because they believe that food, which is one of the four basic things that you need to survive, will kill them? What rational person thinks they are dying every time their stomach feels full? In the past, these feelings and perceptions have made me act on behaviors that made me feel like I have a level of control. In this story in Exodus, that’s all Pharoah wants: control.

I’ve talked a lot on this blog about how all Eating Disorders and mental health disorders come together with this one singular trait of needing to maintain control. To maintain control, we will do a lot of things that make no sense to the outside world. While I was reading this story of how Pharoah acted, I couldn’t help but feel like that’s all he was trying to do to: maintain control over what he thought was a threat.

But the nation of Isreal wasn’t a threat.

And neither are the thoughts in your head.

Pharoah was afraid that one day the people of Isreal MIGHT do something. Today, you may be afraid that eating that muffin MIGHT do something to your stomach. Fear is a powerful emotion that keeps us trapped in dysfunction when we let it run wild in our minds. We have to put boundaries on our fears. We have to leash our fears.

When we leash our fears is when we actually get that control that we want. We think that by letting fear make rules for us, we are actually gaining more control. In reality, these fear-based rules are putting us deeper and deeper inside of smaller and smaller boxes so that our world revolves around them. We can’t see the world around us because fear has made it all dark and terrifying.

If you are in that Box of Fear today, I urge you to start trying to put a leash on your fears. If you let fear continue to control your life, it will only restrict your life further. God doesn’t want us to live a life of restriction. You were not put on this planet to restrict your experiences based on rules that the enemy gave you.

Fear is a natural, God-given emotion. Fear is supposed to save us from animal attacks! It is supposed to get our adrenaline running and be a life-saving emotion. Instead, the enemy has turned fear into a life-taking emotion and a way to control us. The enemy has spoken fears to you, and you have taken them as facts to live by instead of lies.

So, how do we start to put a leash on our fears and set boundaries within our own minds?

Step 1: Take stock of your thoughts and identify the fears that control you in your day-to-day life

When I entered an Eating Disorder treatment facility in 2019, fear controlled every single aspect of my life. The thought that circled around everything was “I can’t handle this.” I viewed myself as very weak and out of control. I didn’t trust myself, or the body that God gave me. When I dug deeper, I realized that not only did I not trust myself to take care of me, I didn’t trust the Lord to take care of me. Taking that deep dive and analyzing my thoughts was one of the best things that I ever did. I realized the central lie that the enemy had me believing and where all of the other lies stemmed from. Read this post “The Root of Mental Health” and use the free downloadable to help you with this!

Step 2: Create New Thought Patterns

It’s not easy, but it is the only way to stop those spiraling thoughts from getting any worse. No matter where you are starting from, you have to decide what thoughts you WANT to have when these controlling thoughts come up. I made flash cards and carried them with me for years as a reminder of what I wanted to be thinking instead of what I was thinking. For example, when I start thinking “I can’t handle this” I quickly think to myself, or say out loud, “My body was created to handle this. God is in control. I do not have to control this situation.” I meditate on that instead of letting myself spiral down the ‘I can’t control this’ rabbit hole.

Step 3: Make God a DAILY fixture in your life

The enemy had so much space in my mind. My thoughts were always screaming horrible things at me. I couldn’t hear the quiet of the Holy Spirit. I couldn’t even hear myself. All I heard was the fear screaming. I knew that I wanted it to stop. I remember when I decided to start a Bible Study, I was in treatment. I would get there early every day and sit in the parking lot and do a Bible Study. I would write a full page of motivational quotes, Bible verses, and messages to myself to remind my brain that the screaming fear wasn’t real. This is when my faith became real to me. It’s 2022, and I still do my absolute best to do a Bible Study every single day. I pray and thank God daily. I spend quiet time with Him. Set aside 20-30 minutes every day to spend with God. Change your schedule however you need to. Below are some articles to help you schedule your time with God. If you are suffering from, or in recovery from, an Eating Disorder, here is a great Bible Study to get you started. (I have more Bible Studies HERE!)

Bible Study Organization for the New Year

Read the New Testament in 1 Year!

Step 4: Express

It’s so important that we don’t hide the fears that are plaguing us. Seeing a doctor, a therapist, nutritionist or other medical professional is so important in helping you deal with mental health issues. Having a team of people was so important to my recovery. Years later, I still see a nutritionist and a therapist monthly to do check-ins. In addition to these amazing people, you can also do some at-home help to keep expressing your emotions and not let them bottle up inside. Journaling, drawing, painting, yoga, and other movements can help slow down your mind’s racing thoughts. I also journal prayers to God. I journal notes to myself. When I have a panic attack, I write to God and to myself. There is a calmness that comes with expression. I urge you to find a way to daily express how you are feeling so that your fears don’t get stuck inside your mind and become bad behaviors.

Leashing your fear is work. But it is work that has such an amazing payoff. When we realize how much fear is controlling us and how small the box of our lives have become, we can see that the problem lies in the rules that we are letting control our mind. Only you can decide to do the work and start taking control back from fear-based thinking.

Want individualized help? I offer Christian Life Coaching to help people overcome their thought barriers and live a fuller life!

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