A Song, Fear and a Calling From God

As soon as I began listening to this song, I could hear the passion involved. I could tell this song was written straight from Tyler Joseph's heart/life experience. (Tyler is the vocalist for 21 Pilots)

As I sat listening to the lyrics, I realized something... This song, Car Radio by 21 Pilots, was describing my greatest fear perfectly. I felt like the lyrics were words that I had said in the past.

Here are some of the notable lyrics from Car Radio by 21 Pilots:

"Sometimes quiet is violent
I find it hard to hide it
My pride is no longer inside
It's on my sleeve
My skin will scream reminding me of
Who I killed inside my dream
There's no hiding for me
I'm forced to deal with what I feel
There is no distraction to mask what is real
I ponder of something terrifying
'Cause this time there's no sound to hide behind"

Let me shift gears and talk about myself for a moment. (I know, contain your excitement!)

I'm no different than anyone else. I have my own unique set of fears.

I'll tell you today that for the longest time my number one fear was silence. I don't know why, I don't know where that fear came from. But sitting in silence has scared me more than anything else in my life.

About 10 months ago, I felt God call me to a time of silence. As a result, I spent the next eight months without listening to music. I still attended worship at church, but did not listen to music in the car, at home or at the gym. Car rides to work and back were silent. If I was home alone, I'd sit in silence. (I don't watch TV so that was off too)

I describe this season of my life as God calling me to take on my worst fear head on.

Yes, my thoughts took me to some bad places. Of course, it was uncomfortable. But at the end of the day, I rose to the challenge and overcame my worst fear.

I finally dealt with some thoughts and feelings that music enabled me to avoid. I finally came to terms with who I am, and what I've done in my past.

What was the scariest thing I've ever done, ended up leading me to the most rewarding place in life.

Now here I am today, listening to music again. But something is different. I'm not afraid of sitting in silence anymore. Sometimes I go completely without music and sound; and guess what? No more fear. It's a comforting place now. It's where I hear God talking to me and reminding me of what He's brought me through.

I don't know what your greatest fear is. Do you relate to me and the song writer of Car Radio by 21 Pilots? Or do you fear something completely different? Is it ending that abusive relationship you're in? Or finally starting that business, you've been dreaming of?

Each of us have unique fears; what's important is overcoming them.

I want to encourage you today to take your fear on head first. Attack it, and overcome what you fear. I can promise that overcoming fear leads to more freedom than you could ever imagine.

I have no idea if Tyler Joseph has overcome his fear of silence. But, I can tell you as someone who has overcome that fear, I'm now free. You can be free from fear too. Take steps today to begin overcoming your fear!