No Fear

When visiting inside Tropic World at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo I am always amazed at these lowland gorillas. What's so intriguing is their natural instinct and agility to be able to sit, stand, or even do a handstand on the smallest of branches. On this particular day I even witnessed one of these guy's hang upside down off a branch and was in mid air clapping his hands. I spared you the great picture because it was a moon shot view! But yes, it was the guy in the first picture.

Nevertheless, it is in these animals DNA to climb trees with no fear of falling.

One of the greatest fears of mankind is going to the dentist. On the outside of my dentist's office used to hang atop the building a couple of smiling faces with a sign that read:

We accept cowards of all kinds.

The medical room that my dentist works in is kind of small and so once your inside that frightening old dentist chair you can only turn to your right side for him to work on your teeth. And strategically placed on that wall to your right your eyes will view a painting containing the verse:

"Fear not for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)

So as the dentist begins to work on my teeth and fear settles in, I am reminded to "fear not".

Fear is a natural response to a perceived threat or danger. Medical professionals have pinned this down to a science and call it Fight or Flee Responses. When something unexpected happens the adrenaline takes affect in our body. Our blood flow will rush and tighten up in both the torso area and the groin area, causing you to fight back or flee. So what's missing is the normal amount of blood flow and oxygen going to the brain which causes faulty thinking.

The 5 systems affected by fear are: physical, behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual.

So fear plays a significant role in your physical and mental well being. And that's when the importance of being spiritual can come into play, if you don't allow fear to ruin that important aspect of you.

Remind yourself daily what God says about your situation, and what He says about you as a child of God.

Remind yourself that: For God did not give us a spirit of fear. He gave us a spirit of power and of love and of a good mind. (2Tim.1:7)