#11 Aftermath

So, your big scary thing actually happened. You know in the coming months you will live in the aftermath of this moment, afraid of it happening again. What do you do? How do you rip up a seed before it becomes a lingering, evil tree? Today I am going to try to tackle this question, in hopes of keeping you from sprouting more fears along the way. Let’s go! 

So what do we do the day after the big fear hits? You lose your job, your car gets totalled, you get dumped, what do you do next? I’m going to turn to my favorite source of wisdom for this one: the bible. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah gets a death threat. He freaks out and runs for the hills. He has given up hope, and begs God to take his life. But God has other plans. He sends Elijah food and tells him to eat. Elijah does, then he goes to sleep. And God wakes him up again with the same instructions, except this time he says “eat. You’ve got a journey ahead, and you don’t got dis!” And after Elijah eats and sleeps, he walks for forty days to meet God. 

Now, I could spiritualize this, but I want to point something else out for a second. I want to highlight the importance of our physical needs. Now, no meal will ever hold you up for forty days, but the fact remains that you need to take care of your body. If you’re lost and tossed by the winds of life, it takes a toll on you physically. All that stress builds up, and sometimes your body is still holding onto all that stress. It’s in these intense times that you need to make sure you are keeping up with yourself. Eat enough, sleep enough, and get some kind of workout in if at all possible. You don’t have to walk for forty days, but maybe try a stroll around the block. I have been taking cold showers, myself. I have to shower anyway, so I may as well try to get a little more out of it. I have felt amazing results from it. Try to get creative and sneak a little something into your weekly routine so that you can maintain your stress levels. 

But there’s a bit of a twist to this story. The death threat that Elijah faces is on the tail end of one of his biggest victories. I suggest you go read it for yourself, but basically Elijah has a big contest with the prophets of Baal (one of the major gods of the day) over whose god is real. They set up altars, and each party prays to their god to set fire to the altar they have made. Elijah mocks his opponents for a while as they have no luck getting their altar burned. After his fun is over, Elijah rolls up his sleeves and absolutely drowns his altar in water. He even builds a moat around it to keep everything nice and soggy! And sure enough, God shows up and scorches the entire thing to the ground. The prophets of Baal run scared, and Elijah’s God is declared the real deal. 

It might seem strange that his biggest moment of fear is right after his biggest victory, but I think that makes perfect sense. Earlier today, I had to buy a car. And although I like my new car, there is most certainly a price to be paid for it. My savings account is getting emptied, along with the money I set aside for my next car, oh! And a little extra to cover the difference. I may love my car, but man, is it expensive! If I were to take another hit now, I would be toast! 

And that’s the point I am trying to make: fear drains our resources. Whether we win or lose, it will still take something from us. We need to take the time to acknowledge that, and to rebuild it. And I’m not just talking about money either. Think of your energy, your joy, and your sense of security as resources. Just like my emergency fund needs to be rebuilt, my fear-fund needs to be replenished as well. It’s easy to think we can ignore the stress and it will simply float away, but that’s a myth that needs to be put to rest. Take some time to acknowledge the fear, and to address the fact that you survived. Take some time to rebuild your strength, your resources, and your mind. Get away for a day or two if you can. Tag a few people in if at all possible, and get. some. rest! 

And I think the next part of Elijah’s story ties in nicely as well. You see, he walks for forty days to the mountain of God. There he has an encounter with God that probably rocked his socks off. He goes into a cave and hears God’s voice. He tells Elijah to go and stand in front of the cave so he can experience God passing by. Winds blow, the ground shakes, and even fire erupts! But those are just the forerunners, the scouts for the one true King! After the earth settles down, God shows up in a still, silent whisper. “What are you doing here?” He asks. Then Elijah gets his moment to rant.

I think this is vital to our mastery of fear. First, we have to acknowledge that the power to conquer, that raging hurricane exists. We survived the battle itself, and we must remind ourselves of that. Sure, there might be things we can improve on, making the next battle go even smoother, but we survived. And after we find the means to do better, it’s time to be quiet. The voices of fear tend to get so loud, and our natural response is to out-shout them. I’m guilty of this myself: the stress rises, so I eat more. It climbs higher, so I spend more time at the movies. Movies stop working, so I gorge on candy. We can’t beat fear at its own game. We have to try something new. And that something is silence. Meet your fears with a gentle response. Be still in the fear, and the fear will eventually die out. 

I’m not saying this will be an easy thing. Fear can definitely creep in and feel like it’s choking you. But you have to trust the process. Over time, the fears will die down, and the storms will subside. Eventually, you will wake up and remember how flustered a person you once were, and wonder where that person went. You will find yourself liberated and you won’t even know how it happened!

But after Elijah gets everything off his chest, God gives him his next mission. “Go tag some people in!” He says. God gives Elijah a few people to delegate, including his successor. I think this is important, because it’s vital that we tag others in. We have to be able to admit that we can’t be everything for everyone all of the time. Sometimes, the antidote to fear is not simply to try to be better, but to tag in someone who already has the skill set you need. I always strive to be the best man I can be, but I had to admit that I don’t know my cars as much as my buddy does. I had to admit to my roommate that we needed a ride to the dealership. I couldn’t face this battle alone, so I relied on those who could. 

It’s a humbling thing, because it means we face off with the fear of vulnerability. This can often be the greatest fear of all. And for good reason! If you show your weakness to an evil person, they might bring you to your knees and kick you while you're down. But with some wisdom and a little persistence, you can face this fear and win! You can’t necessarily be everything, but you can still find the means to face your giants. Sometimes, all it takes is a little help. 

So, what do you do in the aftermath of a fear-battle? Take care of your physical health. Eat and sleep enough. Get away if you can. If you can’t, make some small changes. Adjust your route home, eat something different, listen to different music. Do something to freshen up your brain. And tag some people in to help you manage yourself well. Eventually you will be better than ever, and back for more. I pray this post finds you well, and that you conquer your fear through stillness and the help of others.

Until next time

May Peace be your guide.