OH NO! FRIDAY THE 13TH

OH NO! FRIDAY THE 13TH

Beware! Be on your guard! Warning! Today is Friday the 13th! OH NO!

I Googled Friday the 13th and was amazed at what I found. Snopes.com says Friday the 13th is "a day fraught with peril."

One source said 17-21 million people in the USA are affected by a fear of this day. $800-900 million is lost in business revenue because people stay home. They miss work, will not fly and some will not get out of bed. There is a 23 letter word for this phobia.

Do you know all the things you are not supposed to do on Friday? You are not supposed to:

Give birth (child will be doomed to misfortune, 1846), get married (doomed to a cat-and-dog life, 1879), get up for the first time if recovering from an illness (no reason given, 1923), listen to news (adds another wrinkle on your face and adds a year to your age, 1883), move (you won't stay long, 1982) or start a new job (never stay long in that job, 1923).

And do not even consider giving a dinner party for 13 people or having 13 people in a room.

These sound so silly. No woman is going to say, "Stay in there baby. It is Friday." Bill and I were married on a Friday and our marriage is not a cat-and-dog life. Would you wait until Saturday to get up if you were feeling strong enough on Friday? I bet FOX news has as many listeners on Friday as they do on Wednesday. The verdict is still out on Friday news giving you wrinkles and adding a year to your age. And do you really think moving or starting a new job on Friday has anything to do with how long you live in that house or keep a job?

Yes, these sound silly. They sound silly to me, but I am sure they do not sound silly to the person with a fear of Friday. Or the person that fears the number 13. Or the person that fears Friday the 13th.

We each have fears in our lives. Some are irrational fears. Irrational fears which can cause havoc in our day to day existence. The person who will not go into a small room does not consider claustrophobia an irrational fear. The person who can spend hours in a closet just does not understand claustrophobia. One person can study a spider and another is too afraid to even step on it. Yes, we each have fears in our lives.

Questions:

What do we do about these fears?

Do we let them control our lives?

Where do we get help?

How can we overcome our irrational fears?

(Disclaimer: I am not making light of anyone's fears. I do not like small rooms or large crowds, but can cope with both. There is also a difference between irrational fears and real fears. I do not like to walk on ice, because I know if I fall I can break something. Real fears include loss of employment, health issues, family relationships and things from our past that cause fear today.)

TODAYS SCRIPTURE: PSALM 34:4

I sought the Lord, and he answered me, he delivered me from all my fears.

LET US PRAY  (Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.)

Lord I seek deliverance from my fears. I no longer want the fear of ________________ to control my life. I want to acknowledge and overcome my fear.

Lord I seek deliverance from the real fears in my life. I know my life will always be full of problems and trials, but I turn to you so these real fears do not consume my spirit.

Amen