I, God, ask Myself, whose thoughts do I hear? Are these your thoughts I hear rumbling through the world, such as:

"Dear God, how I seem to be surrounded with obstacles, all these dragons that hold me back, further and further and more and more. It seems I can hardly hold my own let alone move forward. I am so tired of frustration. All that You say, God – do I prevent Your Words from sinking into me? I can't believe that life is supposed to be so thwarting. I endure, yet it all seems to be beyond my endurance."

Dear Ones, sometimes you feel at the mercy of your thoughts, as if your thoughts, as unwanted as they may be, rule the roost, as if defeat were your middle name in capital letters. Even as you know this cannot be true, your belief in what cannot be true leads you down a dark alley.

Do you really say that adversity is your Master? Adversity is not God. Adversity is a mistake of your thinking like so many other thoughts. These thoughts of yours may come and go, yet there are too many wasteful thoughts that don't seem to leave you alone.

Is fear a thought? Fear must be a fearsome thought that you have the ability to shrug off yet, so far, have kept to you. Old thinking about your inability to rise above seems to hound you. Your wayward thoughts do not have to be so illustrious as you make them out to be. Serve Me, friends, and not your thoughts.

Fear, no matter how damaging it may appear to you, is a pipsqueak. Fear thoughts are renegades that hold you down. They lay you low and conquer you. Fear indeed has some fascination for you. Fear stands in triumph, his foot pinning you down.

You can get up from fear. You can let the shadows of fear leave. You really don't have to be so caught up in shadows. You don't have to stick by the side of fear.

Fear is a learned habit. Fear is like opium to you. It is one of those love/hate relationships. Let's face it. Fear is a Svengali, and you dance to a rough tune. Fear is a negative, and you may be an enabler of fear.

Fear has not kidnapped you, nor is fear some kind of good ol' friend that has stood by you. Fear bullies you. Fear holds you captive.

You are the elephant who is so accustomed to his chains that even when the elephant is free, he still thinks he is tethered and continues to walk around a short circle. He might just as well be bound, for his perception is bound.

Your question has to be – not how to knock down fear – but more of a question about turning away from fear and dropping off the masquerade that fear somehow befriends you. Fear may well have you under its thumb, yet you can get up any time you want and walk away.

Have you not gone through fear's shenanigans enough? You don't even have to oust fear. You simply have to say, "Sayonara," and walk away from the tall shadows of fear. You don't have to stand there, a-tremble at fear.

Come, I will take you by the hand, and We shall simply leave this Land of Fear. No permission needed. Fear will never give you permission. Fear will intimidate you. No longer bow to acceptance of fear no matter how fear may sneak in to hold you back. No longer have a duel with fear. Don't deal with fear on the level of fear. Rise a notch above.

Arise.