Am I superstitious? First, let’s start by talking about what being “superstitious” means.

“Superstitious describes someone who believes in superstitions—irrational beliefs in luck, magic, or supernatural causes, often driven by fear of the unknown.”

Now here’s a place I want to say that we all share common ground–fear of the unknown. I have yet to meet someone who does not have fear. But as a man, it is often easy to hide my fears. So this question really points at something deeper, something that drives behavior and shapes decisions and character– fear.

How we react to, respond to, and act through and out of our fear impacts not only ourselves but others. So this is an incredibly important topic! I see superstitions as a way that people cope with their fears. Don’t we all want to look for comfort or security when we are afraid? Don’t we want something stable and steady to lean on?

For me, there was a time where it was easy to write things off as coincidence or luck. In my life, I began to see small patterns and things happening that were unexplainable. As I was going through the darkest time in my life–my divorce–I began to see small things happening that brought comfort and encouragement and hope to my situation. As I begin to journal and write about these small things, I saw something very important. There was no way that all these things could add up to be coincidence. It would take more faith to believe in luck or coincidence than to ascribe this to the hands of a God who loves and cares for me deeply, even in the small details.

And so for me, while I may at times feel afraid of the future and the unknown, I know where to put my confidence and my trust–in someone that will always stand steady, never leave, never fail, never disappoint, and always keep His promises. This is my God, who is greater than anything I fear or face.

I want to emphasize that men need spaces where we can talk about our fears. Places where the heavy, dark, and difficult can come to light. A man who doesn’t know his fears doesn’t know himself. A man who doesn’t acknowledge his fears is in denial. A man who doesn’t work through them with other men places his relationships in danger.

I want to encourage men to step forward and be unafraid to step into spaces where they can bring and dive into exploring their fears.

I also want to point to something greater than anything superstitions can offer to cope or face fears–someone who has faced the hardest, scariest and most difficult things a human can face, and who was victorious. Someone who can bring us into a right relationship with a loving God who cares about every detail of our life. This is Jesus.

Alex Gerber
Host and Writer, Moving Forward
http://www.movingforwardcontent.com