Do you check your closets before going to bed? I don't. I do admit, however, that as a child, I would often check under the bed. For a few weeks I even jumped into bed from several feet away because I thought there was a nun under my bed waiting to snatch my ankles. (I don't know why a nun.)

Fear is a strange creature. When we are children, we are afraid of things that are ridiculous, like the bogeyman or, in my case, nuns. As adults, our fears our easier to rationalize, but perhaps if we really examined them, they would be just as ridiculous.

I read about a businessman who wrote down all his worries and analyzed them. He found that most of the time he was either worrying about something that had already happened or he was worrying about something that was not likely to happen. I think fear is something like that. We tend to fear things that are either not likely to happen, or if they do happen, aren't as bad as we imagine them to be.

Fear, though, is one step past worry. Worry can be an entertaining pastime. But no one likes fear. It's scary. When I am afraid, I feel like I might stop breathing, that my vision is going black, that every pleasant part of my life is slipping away. Although it might be irrational, it's very real.

When I was little, I ran to my parents when I was afraid. They were the voices of reason that drove away the madness. I was assured that what I feared could not occur. Now that I am grown, I realize that my parents have fears of their own, and the magic answers that they had back then no longer apply.

Ah, yes, fear is a scary monster. I can't run to my parents anymore, but still I have somewhere to run. I can run to Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me." (Psalm 23:4) "For thou has been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle forever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings." (Psalm 61:3,4) "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32)

I would be lying if I said I am never afraid. Still I know that if I run to Jesus, He will give me assurance. What I fear can never bring me down, because He is with me.