Martin Luther King, Jr.'s definition of that which we fear translates to redemptive suffering...or almost anything that happens to us may be woven into the purposes of God.
The gist of that was my gift nearly 50 years ago when anxiety was riding me daily. In a moment of terror, a blink, I knew that I needed to let it be, that I would never be able to stop it, that I needed to accept it as mine. That is the panacea for free-floating fear...feel it from our nose to our toes even as it is being woven into the purposes of God.
From that moment of realizing anxiety as spiritual in nature, fear has worked for me. It has not been lifted from me as I wished, no...but my anxiety experience has become one of the most helpful things I pass on to others in need...in fear.
The full quote of MLK, Jr. is ours to stand on: You must honestly confront your shattered dream [or fear]. To follow the escapist method of attempting to put the disappointment out of your mind will lead to a psychologically injurious repression. Place your [fear] at the forefront of your mind and stare daringly at it. Ask yourself, 'How may I transform this liability into an asset? How may I, confined in some narrow Roman cell and unable to reach life’s Spain, transmute this dungeon of shame into a haven of redemptive suffering?' Almost anything that happens to us may be woven into the purposes of God. It may lengthen our cords of sympathy. It may break our self-centered pride. The cross, which was willed by wicked men, was woven by God into the tapestry of world redemption.
Thank you.
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