I’m not sure why, but one of my greatest fears is of tornados. 

Everything about tornados terrifies me. The idea that wind can bundle up into a swirling disaster and pick up everything in its path is haunting. The heavy darkness of a funnel cloud is enough to send shivers down my spine. When the wind howls and the sky is dark, a tornado is the first thing that comes to my mind.

I know I’m not the only one to be afraid of tornados. It’s not an unreasonable thing to fear, but in central Pennsylvania, it wasn’t a huge threat.

Then I moved to northwest Ohio—it’s not Tornado Alley, but there’s a much greater chance of seeing a tornado there than in my hometown. 

I had a couple of scares with tornados (well, tornado watches or warnings, but to me they were legitimate tornado scares) during the five years I lived in Ohio, but the worst was during my last year in Ohio and my first year of marriage to Seth. We were living in a farmhouse we rented from Seth’s father. 

One night, our phones rang at the exact same time. Seth’s mom was calling me, and his dad was calling him. We both got the same message: go to the basement immediately. A tornado just touched down one street over.

We didn’t hesitate. We grabbed our dog Georgia and ran to the basement.

Long story short, we were fine. After what felt like an eternity (but was really less than 30 minutes) Seth’s dad called us and said the danger had passed. Thankfully, even though the tornado touched down, it didn’t do any damage. No one was hurt, unless you count the trees that lost quite a few branches.

But one thing that stood out to me from that experience was Georgia’s reaction. She’s a dog. She had no idea what was happening. She doesn’t know what a tornado is. 

Still, she sensed the fear. She absorbed it. And even though she had no clue what was going on, she was terrified. During our time in the basement, Georgia didn’t relax once. She paced on the cold, damp basement floor. She shook with fear. And for months after that night, Georgia wanted nothing to do with the basement. She refused to go down there. She associated it with her fearful memories of that night.

Fear is contagious. Dangerously contagious.

I can think of so many times that I was afraid because someone around me was afraid. Likewise, I can think of just as many times that I was afraid, and those around me absorbed my fear.

And fear isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are times when fear is healthy. Fear can move us to action, and in moving us to action, fear can keep us safe. Going to the basement during a bad storm, for example, is a good and probably fear-based choice.

But other times, fear does the opposite of spur us into action. Fear can be paralyzing. When fear is paralyzing, our lives are put on hold. We are unable to move forward. Our hopes and dreams and purpose are frozen and left unfinished and unpursued.

Paralyzing fear can come from a lot of different triggers, but God’s word is pretty clear about how we should engage with this sort of fear.

We should shut it down, and keep moving on.

Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

And this is just one example. God tells His followers not to fear 365 times in the Bible. It’s an important message.

Lately I’ve been listening to Jessica Honegger’s “The Going Scared Podcast.” I’ve grown to really love that phrase: going scared. Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the ability to keep on going with fear. But the opposite of going scared is letting fear paralyze you, and that’s where the problem with fear lies.

How often do we let our fears paralyze us? How often do we allow our fears to keep us from moving forward? How often do our fears foster complacency in our lives, and prevent us from pursuing the dreams God has placed on our hearts?

Let’s not allow our fear to become a festering disease. We don’t want our fear to become a contagion that people around us are prone to catch. Contagious courage is so much better than contagious fear.

So spread courage, not fear. Go scared, but don’t freeze when the fear hits. Constant worship and communication with God is a good way to start this battle against paralyzing fear.

And never forget… you are onederfully created by the God who will be with you through it all.

Love,
Becca