When fears of the world overtake you, stop a moment and let them pass by you. You do not need to hold your fears to you. Fears do not shield you. Fears are not a cloak. Fears tatter your heart. You may keep them close to you, if you wish, but why would you wish to keep them?

Fears are like mosquitoes or gnats. The more you swipe at them, the more they seem to bite you and the itchier you get. More scratching means more scratching.

You may have to remind yourself that you are strong in Me. And if you cannot believe that, remind yourself that I am strong in you.

Fears are such stodgy things. They don't want to let go. Let them be. You don't have to hold on to them. They are irrelevant to you. Whatever befalls, you are you and I am I, and We are One.

You march across the plains of life with Me. You climb the mountains with Me. You cross rivers with Me. When you seem to tumble down a hill, nothing is changed. I am still with you. It is still you and I at the bottom of the hill, and We pick Ourselves up and We continue Our journey back to Ourselves.

You are fearing what others may think of you and what you think of yourself. You fear you have failed. Fail fear instead. When you lock into your fears, you lock yourself into world thought, and then the world locks into you. You hold yourself in a vise.

You fear the future and you fear the present, and so you lock Me out. The past you don't fear any longer. Although remnants of the past still haunt you, the past falls more into place for you. The past you can consciously deal with when the present and future are hard for you. The past even seems like a haven. Yet, when you have fears in the present, past thinking is leading you, and you are not in the present. You are frozen in fear, and that makes you not present.

What is this thing fear, and its cousin dread? What are they to you? Why are they so important? Why do you favor them over Faith in Me? What is their power? They say Boo to you, and you tremble, as if they were real, as if they were more real than the Real.

Your mind plays tricks on you. Fear has hypnotized you. You have let it. You have leaned to fear. You have been quick to listen to it.

Now lean to Faith.

You feel you face ultimatums. You feel it is "this" or it is "that" and that's all. You have been looking overmuch to yourself to solve life. You think you are at the crossbow of life ready to be let go of or made the target of. You are assaulted by fear.

Think of Me a little more and less of your fears. You have given homage to your fears. Now, every time a fear grips you, remember Me. That is all you have to do. You do not have to be clever. Simply return your heart to Mine. Relax yourself in My love.

On earth, you do the best you can, but doing the best you can does not mean allowing fear to rule you. Fear is not your king. Fear is not your master. Fear is a vestige. It is not integral to you. Do not ride your fears like horses, nor let your fears make you the horse reined by them.

Fear does not change consequences. Fear is not your friend. Fear distracts you. When fear takes over your life, you are led astray from your life. Fear is not the most important thing in your life. You are worth far more than any fear or what any fear tells you. That is My message for you today.