Do Not Be Afraid

I am participating in an online Bible Study called Stressed-Less Living/Finding God's Peace inYour Chaotic World, by Tracie Miles. It is the first OBS that I have ever participated in, but something, or someone, called me to do it at this time in my life, and I am thankful. Our first week's Bible Verse is from Isaiah 41:10 and reads:
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
After reading this I knew I had made the right decision...for you see, it has been Fear that has been my biggest stressor..my biggest barrier..what has prevented me from reaching my full potential and from doing God's work in more ways than what I am doing now. I have learned over the years, that it is our thoughts that cause us to feel. We do not have control over the thoughts that come into our minds, sometimes at breakneck speed, and we have no control over the feelings we have in response to these thoughts. BUT what we do have control over is how we act on those feelings.
It is not fun, being afraid. And for some reason we often think we are all by ourselves with those feelings, but God gently nudges us and says: Here I Am...I will always be here...and you can trust me to be with you when you take the leap I have been waiting for you to take all these years.
In the first chapter Tracie refers to the movie We Bought a Zoo and Matt Damon's line: "Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage...just 20 secnds of embarassing bravery. And I promise you something great will come of it."
Wouldn't it be sad if that great thing that happens is missed...by fear...I am praying that God helps me take the leap. I will let you know where I land.