What If the Monster in Your Mind Isn’t Real?

You are deep in the woods, the night sky suspended like a blanket of darkness above the earth. Walking along the path, you catch the rustling of leaves amongst the trees. Your heart lingers for a beat, your breathing accelerates. What was that? You remain stock-still, your mind racing through a hundred options. Your body tenses—sweat breaks out upon your forehead as your senses are alerted. Is it an animal, a predator? Suddenly your feet are moving, carrying you in the opposite direction, away from the disturbance.

And then you hear it again. The rustling. But this time, there's a surge of panic. You are no longer walking—you are running, your legs moving as fast as possible. You are positive something is chasing you, something big and dangerous. Your mind runs wild, and in the darkness, it's hard to know what's real and what's imagined.

But then you stop. You turn back, having gained enough nerve to face the unknown. And then you realize—the noise that made you afraid? It was only a squirrel racing through the undergrowth.

How often throughout our lives do we let fear take charge like this? We hear a rustling, a faint movement, and our minds instantly convert it to something larger, something more terrifying. We run away from opportunities, from challenges, from the possibilities that will lead to growth—because we are sure they are a bear about to pounce.

But the fact is: If we don't take the time to look back, we will never be able to find the truth. We will keep running, believing that something is chasing us, something that will destroy our dreams. The more time we spend running from our fears, the stronger they become within our minds. The bear does not exist, but the fear will ensnare us in an infinite cycle of running away from the very thing that will enable us to grow.

Fear Twists the Truth, but Faith Sheds Light

This is exactly how the enemy operates. He loves to amplify our fears to greater heights than they truly are, keeping us tied up in doubt and uncertainty. He deceives us, making us believe that we will fail, that we are weak, that the challenges ahead will crush us.

It was the same deception that the Israelites faced when they reached the Promised Land. The Lord had already informed them that the land belonged to them, but when the ten spies returned, they were afraid:

"We seemed like grasshoppers to ourselves, and to them we seemed the same." – Numbers 13:33

They allowed fear to control their reality. They considered themselves weak and powerless despite the fact that God had already guaranteed them victory. The fear within them made them roam the wilderness instead of advancing to the blessings that God had prepared for them.

How often do we do the same? We allow fear to enlarge the problem to the point where it seems impossible to overcome. But Scripture tells us something different:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

God has not called us to be afraid or to run from the unknown. Instead, He tells us to trust Him, to step forward in faith, and to remember that the victory has already been won.

You cannot avoid fear forever. But when you finally face it head-on, you’ll likely find that it was never quite as scary as you imagined. That ferocious bear that once terrified you might be nothing more than an innocuous squirrel.

The further you run, the tighter fear’s grip becomes. But if you turn around, you’ll see the truth.

Because the truth is this: fear lies. The enemy wants to keep you paralyzed, uncertain, and afraid. But God calls you to live boldly, to walk by faith, and to trust that He is greater than whatever frightens you.

Ultimately, overcoming your fears does not mean becoming fearless. It means realizing that the more you avoid them, the more the fear will grow. But if you shift to face them, you’ll discover that you have the power to conquer them. And by doing so, you unlock new doors of possibility, free from the weight of imagined dangers.

So, will you keep running, letting fear guide each step you take? Or will you turn back, trust the One who stands beside you?