Fear can stop you from doing what you need to do. Military leaders have known this truth for centuries. Fear has killed more people than have died in actual combat. In a similar manner, fear will keep you from saying or doing things to improve your marriage. If it does not make you run away, it often leaves you paralyzed. You may feel frozen in terms of being able to do anything. Fear will keep you in a state of limbo. I have often found limbo and the uncertainty with it is often worse than the other options.
So when you are faced with fear, how can you overcome the paralysis? First check your focus. Fear often results when you are only thinking about yourself and what can happen to you. When you consider other people and what they need, your focus changes, and the intense fear dissipates. Fear often arises when love fades. When you do something out of love, the room for fear is minimal. If you are experiencing fear, it could be that you are not doing things out of love (NOTE: The exception to this is when your physical safety or that of your family is at stake. In such cases, the fear is real. The first priority is to protect them and yourself. Safety always takes precedent, even over love in such circumstances. Only when everyone is safe, can love blossom. When you put love ahead of safety, you end up endangering yourself and others.)
In real life there are few guarantees. There is no guarantee that things will always turn out well when you overcome the fear, although you will have a clear conscience rather than be living in quiet desperation.
Best Regards,
Jeff Murrah
