Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: Fear Builds Rooms Inside Us

“I’m just gonna take a saw to it,” I told my wife. My crummy hose, which was going to get thrown out anyway, seemed permanently stuck to the outdoor faucet. No matter how I twisted and sprayed and tried different tools, it wouldn’t budge.

Sara was nervous about me sawing through the hard plastic connector. I don’t have a great track record on home repair projects, but I figured I could do it without disrupting the faucet threads.

We deal with fear every day. Fear is a natural instinct. But fear can shut us down if we let it. Sure, I had feared I might cause a bigger plumbing problem than I started with. But I didn’t let fear stop me.

Cameron Trimble wrote, “Fear builds rooms inside us and then convinces us we are safer when we stay locked in.”

Trimble used the word “rooms” when he could have used “walls.” I think that’s significant.

Rooms aren’t just dividers. They have names and purposes. We use rooms in our houses for various needs and activities.

Fear builds rooms to protect us, but not in the best ways. Growing up as a preacher’s kid, I hid in a fearful room based on whether or not people would like me. Throughout my life, it’s been a struggle to leave that room. The fear I feel in that room might appear externally as worry or defensiveness or sadness. Over the course of my life, I’ve gotten better at exiting that room.

The big risks I’ve taken several times with my vocation are actually easier than the risks I’ve taken where people’s toes might get stepped on. I’ve been stepping on a few feet lately because I understand that repressing my voice and staying in the room is worse than the alternative.

Fear can repress our faith lives. We don’t want to look weird for Jesus. We don’t want to go against what everyone else at our church seems to believe. We don’t love our neighbors because it might be risky to act as the Good Samaritan and help that hurting person on the literal or figurative side of the road.

Let’s examine the rooms that fear has built within us. Let’s figure out their labels and purposes. Let’s determine to leave those rooms, especially when our faith calls us forward to “fear not” and to respond to God’s callings, small or large.

By the way, I executed my faucet extraction plan to perfection. I even took a victory picture of the stubborn hose connector (pictured with this blog).

Speaking of fear, check out my latest Practical Faith Academy podcast episode with author Rebecca Gray, entitled “Facing Fears with God’s Help.” Gray has written a 334-day devotional book on dealing with fear. Listen to our discussion for her experiences with fear through devastating life events and her practical ways to address fear. You can search major podcast platforms for Practical Faith Academy or find it at CecilTaylorMinistries. com/podcast. (Type it into your browser please; FB hates external links).