October has to be one of my favorite months. 
The air gets colder. 
Grocery stores smell like cinnamon. 
Flannel is the best fabric. 
For some reason, people go apple picking. (Not me, I think it’s weird to pay extra just to do the work yourself.) 

Move over December, because October just might be the most wonderful time of the year. 
October also represents fear. Towards the end of the month, there is a whole day dedicated to spooky, scary stuff.

It’s fun, because it’s all fake. 
The movies were shot on a set. 
The skeleton at your door begging for candy is just a random fourth-grader. 
The haunted house is staffed by struggling actors. 

However, there are some real fears that we face. 
Some of you are so scared of letting people know who you really are that you hide behind a fake smile. 
Some of you are scared for your family’s future. 
Some of you are scared of not making new friends. 
Some of you know you need to be doing something different in life, but fear is keeping you from doing it. 

This is how fear works for the most part— it’s fake. It lies to you. Fear completely takes place in your head. It’s the act of using your imagination to create unrealistic scenarios that will likely never happen. You can easily become so obsessed with your fears that they make you freeze — they paralyze you. 

Just like a deer in headlights, it’s near impossible to move forward while frozen in fear.

I want to help you fight your fears. 

READ: 2 Corinthians 5:7 
“For we walk by faith, not sight.” 

Here the Apostle Paul is talking about the hope we have in Jesus and what He has done for us. Basically, he is saying, that you can have hope despite any circumstance. You can have comfort in the present, because you can have confidence in the future. As a Christian, everything is heading in a good direction, because everything is heading in God’s direction. 

Fear is just a feeling. When you walk in fear, it’s hopeless. It is like walking in the dark with no flashlight. I am thankful that God doesn’t instruct us to walk by our feelings, because they are ever-changing and unreliable. 
He instructs us to walk by faith. 

Here is our encouragement to you this October, walk by faith — not feelings. 
What are the fears and feelings in your life that you need to overcome? 
Jesus will help you fight that fear. 

When you walk forward in faith, you are walking away from your fears. 
Take it one day at a time. 
Move forward one step at a time.

As you fuel your faith, your fear will fade.