Category Archives: Fear

Worry – a disease of the spirit

Posted on November 29, 2018 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s an old parable about a man meeting the Grim Reaper, who told him he was going to take 100 people that day. But 1,000 people died, and that evening he met Death again and accused him of breaking his … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Faith, Fear, Worry | Leave a comment

The only thing we should fear

Posted on October 13, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

When I was in the army our instructors used to tell us that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that counts, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. Anthony de Mello, similarly, tells the … Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Courage, Fear, Heart, New Heart | Leave a comment

‘Remember in the darkness what you knew in the light.’

Posted on April 29, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

Many of us have had the experience of waking up in the early hours of the morning and finding ourselves overwhelmed with fear and negative thoughts. Those early hours are when our natural rhythms are at their lowest point in … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Fear, Feelings, God, God with us, God's faithfulness, God's love, Hope, Storms of life, Trials and testings | Leave a comment

Stepping out

Posted on January 27, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

An Army chaplain once told me about his first parachute jump. As the aircraft approached the dropping zone he clipped his parachute release to the static line, checked the equipment of the man in front and waited for the green … Continue reading →

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‘Nothing is written’

Posted on December 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

One of the all-time great movies is Lawrence of Arabia, and one of its greatest scenes is where Lawrence, having led his men across the burning cauldron of the supposedly uncrossable Nefud desert, goes back into that furnace to rescue … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Fatalism, Fate, Fear | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

There’s nothing to fear

Posted on December 23, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s a story about a man from Canada who left the frozen north for a holiday in the Florida Sun. His wife was due to follow him next day. When he got to his hotel he sent her an email. … Continue reading →

Posted in Assurance, Eternity, Faith, Fear, Heaven, Hope | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Keeping safe from the dangers of love

Posted on October 16, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

The deepest of all human needs is to love and be loved, but the thing that keeps us from finding it is fear of rejection. However, in holding back we deprive ourselves of the thing we want most. C.S. Lewis … Continue reading →

Posted in Fear, Life, Life's journey, Life's lessons, love | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Hold the line

Posted on June 5, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

A woman once phoned a theatre to say she’d lost a valuable diamond brooch and thought it might have happened there the night before. The manager told her to hold the line while he went to look. He searched thoroughly … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Fear, Persistence, Prayer | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Faith is not listening to our fears

Posted on May 5, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

An army friend of mine told me that that the only time he’d ever been pushed to the very threshold of fear was when he had to make his first parachute jump. As the aircraft approached the drop zone everyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Fear, God, God with us, God's faithfulness, Jesus | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Revelations from a ‘worry table’

Posted on March 21, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

One night a man whose wife lived in fear of burglars heard a noise in the house and phoned the police, who responded and actually caught a burglar downstairs. Before they took him away the man said ‘I want you … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Confidence, Faith, Fear, God, God with us, God's faithfulness, Worry | Leave a comment