I love this time of year. October brings with is the true fall colors and weather, it also happens to be the month I was born. I love this season, plus I always love the spooky movies that make the feel even better. Now, I don’t love the intense horror flicks, but I do love b-movies. The term “b-movie” is an old film term, theaters would have a-movies with the higher budgets and star power in the old nickelodeons, but the b-movies played much later. They were low budget and often were spooky in nature, but seeing the strings on a flying saucer doesn’t really make you terrified. Every October, I like to write about these cheese-fests and talk about some lessons we can all learn from how these movies tackle fear inducing situations.
Fear manifests in different ways, it’s not always a shadow in the dark or a noise you hear in your house, most of the time, fear tells us that we can’t make it or that we are not enough or important. True fear comes from a very real enemy, Satan, who’s only job is to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to make you feel worthless, and that you have not purpose. It’s hell-speak, it’s a lie that tries to utilize fear to stop us from living into what is true.
The truth is that God made you intentionally with a purpose and calls you to be greater than you can even imagine.
Sometimes though, this is hard to believe, because our enemy knows that when we are isolated, that’s when we are the weakest. Enter, our movie for this week! This is a newer b-movie, from last year, Vampires Vs. The Bronx. The movie centers on three kids living in the Bronx, and one stumbles upon a vampire conspiracy. It’s a cheesy, cute, spooky adventure. What I love about this movie, is that only one kids encounters the vampires, but his two friends trust what he says is true. I love that, we need people in our lives that will believe us when we say we are struggling and come alongside us to face the fear of what we are going through.
Ephesians 4:12 (nirv) says, “One person could be overpowered. But two people can stand up for themselves. And a rope made out of three cords isn’t easily broken.”
We need solid friends in our lives to face the fear that comes up.
You need people that you can trust and who will back you up when you need it. The picture of a vampire is a creature that drains life away, fear takes away life from our lives. We need people that will encourage and empower us, and we need to be there for our friends too. That’s why being a part of community is vital, that is the role of the church. To be a place where you can come together and grow through life.
Don’t face fear alone, face fear with friends.
As we enter a month of spooky fun, I want to help you remember that fear is real and that we have a God who is bigger than our fear. We don’t face vampires or monsters every day, but we do come face to face with real fear. It can be easy to let fear control our lives, but God has created us to do great things. Fear wants to stop us from reaching those God-given dreams, don’t give it the power it doesn’t have. Develop relationships with life giving people who want to help you succeed, and do the same for them.
Face fear with friends, that’s the truth of what Scripture says.
-Joshua Thomas
About the Author: Joshua Thomas is a writer by day and superhero by night. When he’s not writing and crimefighting, you can find him reading a good book, sipping warm tea, taking pictures, or dreaming. The young writer doesn’t fully know what he’s doing, but is enjoying the journey of it all. You can follow his hipster photos and Jack Kerouac musings on Instagram @joshua_thomas__
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