Facing Fears with a "Little" Pug Support

My "girls" Sally and Lilly

The Lord God is my strength [my personal bravery, my invincible army]; He makes my feet [steady and sure] like hinds' feet and makes me walk [forward with spiritual confidence] on my high places [of challenge and responsibility]. ~Habakkuk 3:19

Walking with the spirit of fear has been a deceptive and destructive foe I have tracked with many times. I have walked with the fear of rejection, the fear of failure, the fear of what others thought of me, the fear of not being in control over my situations, the fear of loneliness, the fear of worrying over my children, along with many other forms of fear. Walking with these fears has made my journey in life seem very heavy, long and tiresome. Year after year, fear progressively paralyzed and prevented me from being who I desperately desired to be. I wanted so badly to connect with people and make the most of my life, but I didn’t know how because the deceiver of fear hoovered over me and distracted me from God’s divine goodness. 1 John 4:18 says that there is no fear in love. But that perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. Jesus is the perfect love—He is the only One who can drive out your fears. Without knowing, believing and living in the love of Jesus Christ, fear will punish and prevent you from loving yourself and others the way God wants you to. Fear makes you self-focused and self-absorbed as it consumes your attention and energy. When my focus became fixated on the divine love of Jesus Christ, everything about me began to be transformed. In particular, I started developing the spiritual feet that helped me walk through and past fear so I could get to the places God wanted me to go. Habakkuk 3:19 says, “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” I took this Truth to heart. I not only believed this Truth but I started to stand firm on them and I was determined to walk them out step by step. Whenever I felt fear luring over me, I would repeat God's Word over and over in my mind.

During that time of transformation, God revealed to me how to overcome fear on one of my afternoon walks along a wooded nature preserve. On this particular walk, I asked God to help me with my fears. I walked silently waiting to hear from God, but He never spoke. The silence was broken when I walked up to a path that led into the woods. A small voice within me said “Go inside—face your fears and walk the path.” I was apprehensive at first, but He told me that it is better to walk in fear than not to walk at all. So I put on my big girl pants and took my first step. After about five minutes of walking along the path, I came to a halt and was now faced with what seemed to be a dead-end of overgrown weeds. Thinking that was the end of my journey, I was quickly (and with great relief) ready to turn back and go home. But a voice within me said, “No—keep going forward.” I didn’t want to at first, but I remembered how I asked God to speak to me about fear and in some weird way I thought that maybe He was trying to tell me something. So I picked up my dog Sally (who was with me at the time) and we journeyed together through the thigh-high weeds. Knowing there could be snakes in the weeds I was about to walk through, I prayed that God would protect me. After a few minutes of clinching my teeth and holding tight to Sally, I made it through and saw the clear path again. I was relieved and thanked God for watching over me. As I started walking forward again, I was ready for this journey to end. But after about ten minutes, I lost sight of the path. All I could see was trees scattered before me that made it difficult to see the path I needed to be on. I started to panic thinking I was lost, but a voice within me said to keep walking forward. And sure enough, after a few minutes I was on “the path” again. By this time, I felt I should have been out of the woods by now, but I was so far along on my journey that I couldn’t turn back. So I just kept walking and praying. I was so glad I had Sally with me. Even though I knew my sweet pug could not protect me, her presence gave me comfort. After about thirty minutes of walking on this path with fear, my journey ended and I was out of the woods. As I looked around, I didn’t recognize my surroundings at first. I ended up way beyond where I had expected to be—I was in another neighborhood. After I got my bearings, I gladly started walking home, but this time I took the easy path home.

As I walked back towards home, I asked God “What was that all about?” And this is what He told me: First, to overcome your fears; you have to face your fears. When I looked and faced the woods, I was facing my fear. The second thing He told me was that I couldn’t just face my fear but I had to move forward in the fear, praying and trusting in Him. As I started walking, I trusted that He would protect me even though I was scared. He told me that it’s okay to feel nervous but I shouldn’t fear to the point that I don’t trust Him.

When I got to the thigh-high weeds, He told me that sometimes I will come across situations that seem too big and dangerous for me. Fear will lure me into thinking those situations are impossible for me because “I could never do that” and I will want to turn back. But I am to still move forward. God revealed that I was on the His path all along. I just had to trust in His protection and strength as I walked through those “too big for me” opportunities along His path. Philippians 4:13 confirms that we can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

When I got to the point where I couldn’t see the path anymore, God told me that sometimes I may not see or understand His path, but I am not to rely on my own sight or understanding. I am to keep moving forward, trusting and seeking Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP) says, “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.”

Up to this point of my journey, I was blessed by this revelation. But the last thing He told me penetrated me so deeply that I will keep it in my heart forever. When I went beyond my neighborhood and ended up further than I realized, He told me that if I trust in Him and keep going forward with His plan, He will bring me way beyond where I had ever expected—way beyond what is familiar. This was a revelation for me because I had always seen myself as “lowly” and that from the world’s standards, I could never accomplish much. But this spoke to me in such a profound way that I thought “In myself I am nothing but in Christ, I am above and beyond what could ever be expected.” Ephesians 3:20 teaches us that through Christ, God is able to act exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all that we could dare to ask, think, or hope, according to His great power that is at work in us.

After all this was revealed to me, I thought of my sweet pug Sally and wanted to know what she represented. He told me that as I go forward, He will always provide me with the support and comfort I need as I walk down those scary paths—whether it is with people or a furry friend. That made me smile and look at Sally in a different way.

Just like it did to me, fear may be holding you back from walking down the divine path that God has specially made for you. But fear not—Jesus Christ has overcome this world. Jesus tells us in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

No matter what path God may have you on, keep your focus on Jesus Christ and not the world around you. Colossians 3:2 says “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” As you walk forward, keep your mind, heart, and feet set firm on God’s Truth and He will enable you walk on any path He puts before you—even a path with fear.