SILENCE THE RABID DOGS! These are not my pets!!!

I went to bed early last night and ended up waking 45 minutes before my alarm went off this morning. I lay there hoping I'd catch at least a few more minutes of sleep (I didn't) while thoughts that inspired my post last night rolled through my mind.

I could feel the same fears I'd asked God to rid me of just yesterday trying to creep back in, so I went back over all the things God has been teaching me. After my alarm finally went off and I had spent some time in the Word, I was writing in my prayer journal, and it occurred to me to pray that I won't treat my fears like pets... I don't want to keep them around, feeding them and entertaining them as though they have a home with me. I want them GONE!

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My gut instinct when I start to feel fearful is to share my fears with some trusted friends and ask them to pray for me. Now trust me, I do NOT think these are bad things in and of themselves! Sometimes we need to share our fears with people, and sometimes simply speaking out loud about a fear makes a person realize how ridiculous it is and dispels it. But this morning I started pondering whether my own tendency to share my fears doesn't more often actually feed them, keeping them alive...

As I said last night, I tend to get so wrapped up in trying to fix things myself, I neglect to seek God's help. And I'm suddenly realizing that talking about my fears probably causes me to focus and dwell on them more than anything, when the truth is I usually can't "fix" them, because they're usually beyond my control. As long as I continue to focus on the "dogs," I'll never stop hearing them bark... But if I turn to GOD and ask Him to silence them, though they may continue to bark, the frightening sounds will fade as He draws my mind away from them and reminds me of His truth and His sovereignty.

So sorry, dogs. You've had your day, but you are not my pets and you will not be getting my attention anymore. Or as Florence + the Machine might say, the dog days are over!!!