Lately I have had some things going on in my life that have caused me to have some fear, anxiety, and worry.
Not the loud, obvious kind that shows up and announces itself.
No, this kind creeps in quietly. It slips into the back of my mind and settles there before I even realize what’s happening.
It reminds me of the snake that crept into my house a couple of weeks ago. INSIDE MY HOUSE!! My son was the one who found it in his bathroom. Somehow it had made its way inside while we were gone. No one was there to see it come in. No one knew it was there. It had simply slipped in unnoticed—sneaky, stealthy, and deceptive.
And that’s exactly how these thoughts have been entering my mind.
Not all at once. Not in a dramatic moment. Just quietly slipping in through the cracks.
A thought of insecurity.
A whisper of doubt.
A feeling of shame.
Before long, those thoughts start circling.
What if you fail?
What if you’re not capable?
What if people see through you?
What if you’re not enough?
You're just not that important!
And if we’re not careful, those thoughts begin to feel true simply because they’ve been sitting there long enough.
But here’s what I have had to remind myself:
Those thoughts are not from God.
God does not plant seeds of insecurity in His children.
He does not whisper shame over the people He redeemed.
He does not fill our minds with fear about the future He already holds.
Scripture tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7:
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
Fear may speak loudly, but it does not speak with God's voice.
The enemy, however, works differently.
He rarely kicks the door in.
He looks for cracks.
A moment of exhaustion.
A moment of uncertainty.
A moment where we’re already questioning ourselves.
And then, just like that snake, he slithers in quietly.
One thought at a time.
What starts as a whisper can become a stronghold if we let it stay long enough.
But the beautiful thing about truth is that it exposes lies.
When we bring those thoughts into the light of God’s Word, they lose their power.
Fear says, You’re not capable.
God says, My grace is sufficient for you.
Doubt says, You’re not ready.
God says, I will equip you.
Shame says, You should hide.
God says, Come to me.
The enemy’s strategy hasn’t changed since the garden of Eden. The serpent didn’t begin with an attack—he began with a question. A whisper. A seed of doubt.
"Did God really say…?"
And he still works the same way today.
But what the enemy hopes we won’t realize is that we have something Eve didn’t have in that moment.
We have the full truth of God's Word.
We have the Holy Spirit living within us.
And we have the authority to take every thought captive.
So lately when those thoughts start creeping in again, I picture that snake in my house.
Uninvited.
Out of place.
Not meant to live there.
And just like that snake, those thoughts have to go.
Because my mind is not a home for fear.
It is a dwelling place for the peace of God.
And when fear begins to rise again, I am reminded of the invitation God gives us in 1 Peter 5:7:
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
Not because we are strong enough to carry it.
Not because we have everything figured out.
But because He cares for us.
Deeply.
Personally.
Completely.
The God who created the universe is not distant from our worries.
He is not annoyed by our fears.
He does not grow tired of our weakness.
He invites us to bring every anxious thought, every heavy burden, and every hidden fear to Him.
Because He cares for us.
And sometimes the most powerful act of faith is simply placing those fears back into the hands of the One who was always meant to carry them.