Years ago, I visited and hiked in Letchworth State Park in New York. It is considered by many to be the ‘Grand Canyon of the East.’ For centuries, the Genesee River has eroded its way deeper into the shale, siltstone, and sandstone earth forming huge waterfalls and deep gorges. The gorge walls are nearly vertical in many areas.

While I was walking, I overheard a young boy ask his mother, ‘Are you still scared of heights?’ This question was curious to me because it supposes that fear is something one can, and perhaps should, outgrow.

Children are usually afraid of the dark, probably more specifically, the unknown. As a child, I was terrified of my closet if the door was closed and I hadn’t been in the room for a while. I felt it was totally plausible that somebody had snuck in and was waiting to get me; it was stressful. Every once in a while I could coax someone into opening the closet door for me, usually under the pretense of showing them something cool. Apparently, I didn’t mind sacrificing friends or family as long as I made it out alive. As a kid, I was pretty upstanding like that.

Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous or likely to cause pain.

As far as my closet ordeal, I thought it was potentially dangerous. Who knew what was lurking?

As we get older, I don’t think we ever outgrow the temptation to fear, it just morphs. Instead of being afraid of the dark, we are afraid of failure, losing someone we love, the consequences to an action, or any number of things. We can be so stricken with fear that we can’t move. This doesn’t have to be literal. Sometimes we are faced with challenges or decisions in life that are hard. The outcomes are rife with unknown consequences. Sometimes instead of making a decision, we don’t do anything at all, a little bit of deer-in-the-headlights syndrome. This can be dangerous. I often find myself asking, “What’s the worst that can happen?” when faced with a difficult situation.

As a Christian, I think fear is a slap on the face to God. It tells Him that He isn’t quite enough or that we don’t trust Him to pull us through. We suffer from fear because we prioritize things above God or we don’t trust Him as we should. The next time you are afraid of something, I think you should stop a moment and ask yourself if you have properly placed priorities.