Sorting out clothes and belongings, getting rid of those that I don’t need, keeping a few to remind myself of a country, and seeing cardboard waiting to be taped and formed into boxes. It is an all too familiar process I go through many times. And it might be the same for you. Any person, man or woman, has fought to overcome fear during a trying time.
Apart from this physical process of moving, I experience two sub-processes I go through spiritually and mentally: fear and grief. You may be familiar with the TCK grief, but I’ll leave that for another article. For now, I’ll elucidate my fear process – which, of course, can occur at any moment even without my moving.
What will happen after I move? Will I be able to find a job? Will I have enough time to write? What if I forget about my friends and brethren in the former country? How will God fulfill His promises in the next country? How long will I take to adapt? What if I experience reverse culture shock*? I seem to have worries and doubts similar to these whenever I start to move.
What’s Their Source?
Fear.
Specifically, fear of the unknown. The unknown itself is not bad; however, fearing it means my eyes are turned away from God and instead, are upon how vast and uncertain the path is before me. Then I forget who He is.
Throughout my multiple moves, God has been teaching me not to fear. The number of times He taught me this lesson was so many that I got frustrated at myself for being utterly weak in this area. At the same time, I saw His patience and merciful kindness towards me. I hope I’m improving, but I can’t do it myself.
How Do I Beat Fear?
With continuous trust in Jesus Christ.
The word continuous means that the action does not have interruptions. Once I stop, I fear. It’s challenging and impossible for me, but not for Him (Luke 18:27). And I need to remind myself that I can trust in Him because Christ freed me from the bondage of sin, including fear.
After I moved to the Czech Republic, He led me to this verse:
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9, KJV
And during these last few months, He repeatedly brought this verse to me:
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10, KJV
Instead of fearing the unknown, continuously trust the Known, Him, and this process will turn from fear into a process filled with trust. Are you experiencing fear these days? I pray that you’ll trust in Him, and He’ll give you the strength to carry you through.
*Reverse culture shock happens when a TCK returns to his birth/passport country.
TCKs for Christ: Administrator
Clarissa Choo
is a vessel used for Christ and desires to encourage TCKs to live victoriously in Him. She’s an ATCK, a former business kid, and has lived in four countries. She seeks to follow the Lord’s calling in her life to missions. She also serves at Light Unto Darkness. Connect with her Instagram at @ClarissaChooWriter.
Thanks Clarissa! This was a good article; I liked it! Mathew 6:25-26 tells us that we shouldn’t worry. It doesn’t do anything good to us, and what we should do is trust God in everything. He will take care of what we have to wear, eat, and everything else. We shouldn’t worry about it. I just thought that might have something to do with this, so thanks!
Amen! Indeed, God will take care of what we truly need.