Welcome back to another lesson from a b-movie! Last week I talked about a recent movie, but today we are looking back to the 80’s with a pretty obscure choice. I love doing this series not only because talking about how to face fear is important, but I also get to share about weird movies not many people know about. When we talk about fear, it’s often about the fears of things done to us or things we worry about happening in the future, but sometimes, they come from our own actions. This is something that I have been thinking about recently, there are moments in my past where I’ve made a bad decision or said something I wish I didn’t, and those begin to hold me back.
Enter, the plot to our movie today. I love b-movies, but I love made-for-TV movies even more! Why? These b-movies are made on the cheap, just to have something play on whatever channel is producing it; which is the perfect recipe for a good cheesy time. This movie today has it all, 80’s fashion, teens in a graveyard, romance with a zombie, and Reading Rainbows own, Levar Burton! I’m talking about the hit b-movie you haven’t heard of, The Midnight Hour. I hope that was a good intro for this flick, I had lots of fun writing it and having this movie come to mind.
When dear Danielle and I had opposite schedules for a season, I found this movie late one night in its’ entirety on YouTube (feel free to have a good laugh and some popcorn, friends!), and boy is it a classic setup. A group of teens steal a spell from a museum, and decide to read it while in a graveyard. Pro-tip, this always end badly. As you can imagine, bad stuff happens, zombies run amuck on Halloween night and the teens have to fix the problem they created before midnight.
Now, I know this is weird, but stick with me. Some of the fears we have come from problems we have created. Sure, your mistakes probably didn’t make monsters, but maybe it has left some broken relationships and caused some aversion to moving forward in your life.
We all make and will make mistakes, it’s how we bring it to God that brings healing.
You are going to make mistakes, I know I hate to bring bad news, but we can control what we do when we mess up. To make this simpler, I’ll use the example of me currently getting my MDiv. If I choose to leave all of my work until Sunday, I’ll be stressed and end up turning in work that let’s face it, would be a joke. The present feels fine because I don’t have to work, but it doesn’t pay off in the long run. Let’s say I do that one week, I have the choice to do the same thing again, or learn from the past and make the right choice.
The same is true in life. We can keep making mistakes and bad choices, or we can learn from it. The beautiful thing is, God has grace that is as endless as the ocean.
Romans 5:21 says, “Sin ruled and brought death. But grace rules in the lives of those who are right with God. The grace of God brings eternal life. That’s because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done.”
Through a relationship with Christ, we have grace. It’s time to face fear with forgiveness and growth.
When we have a relationship with Christ, we are in a constant place of growing and changing, going from who we were into who God is calling you to be. Faith is not stagnant, it is an ongoing process. Mistakes happen and we don’t always do what’s right, that comes from the effects of sin, but we have a God who forgives and loves no matter what. It doesn’t make sense, but that’s the beauty of God’s great love.
When I think about The Midnight Hour, it’s a story of having to face the fear that you created, so that you can be free. The same is true in our lives, we need to face the fear that we have created. You can’t control the things that have happened to you, but you can control the things you do and how you handle messing up.
I know for me, I recently felt like I hurt someone. I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit, so I met with them. The goal was to face something that I didn’t handle in the best way. It was humbling and it wasn’t flawless, but I needed to face some fear that I had created. Maybe you have made some mistakes or broken a relationship that is causing some anxiety.
Face the fear, ask God to renew your heart, grow and change.
Sometimes that’s all we can do, show grace to yourself and learn to love others.
I don’t think this post will land with everyone, and that’s okay. I wrote it for people like me who will think about a conversation from years back and feel ashamed of what a younger version of yourself may have said or done. When I walked through a time of job loss and transition, I wanted the people to hurt me to just apologize, and that didn’t come. What I learned though, is that I want to be quick to apologize, I want to seek forgiveness from the people I’ve hurt. It’s not for my own gain, but to give closure that I wanted. Maybe you need to apologize, maybe you just need to talk something out, maybe instead of running from the monster you created, you need to face it.
Trust me, God has so much grace, you just have to take the step to begin facing fear you created.
Begin to forgive yourself, too. You’re too hard on yourself and God has bigger plans for you.
I hope this message spoke to you, and I know I’m ending on a different tone, but I just want you to remember you are loved, hiding your sins only hurts you more.
Live free by facing fear you created.
Oh, also, maybe don’t read any spells in a graveyard on Halloween. It’s not gonna end well for ya.
-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__
Joshua Writes 