THE OTHER SIDE OF FEAR
Does fear stop you?
THE OTHER SIDE OF FEAR
In the multi shadowed town of Blackenridge, tucked between fog-laced pines and the whispers of forgotten roads, there stood a building long avoided: The Bellows House. It was once a workshop where a master bellmaker forged instruments of fire and sound—tuned for celebration, repentance, and war. When the master of the house passed no one ever saw who cared for it. Through the years odd noises were heard coming from this great house and created many to be spooked. A legend appeared that was wrapped in fear and warning. So for over a hundred years, no one dared approach it. They said the house screamed if you got too close. It was said that one with a brave and cunning soul would one day break this bell of fear.
Children dared one another to run up and touch the iron doorknob and run away. Most didn’t make it past the front gate. The air around the house pressed inward, as if fear itself lived there.
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One misted morning, a stranger arrived at the towns gate, wearing boots made of bark and coat of wool lined with stars. No one saw where he came from. He then just stood at the town square’s edge, reading a brittle sign:
“Bellows House: Condemned. Do Not Enter. Trespassers Shall Be Prosecuted (Or Worse).”
“I heard there’s treasure in there,” he said, loud enough for the grocer’s boy to overhear.
“Treasure?” the lad asked. “There’s nothing but ghosts in that place.”
The stranger smiled, eyes kind but ancient. “Ghosts don’t guard treasure. Fear does.”
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The young lad’s name was Theo. He’d been taught from birth by his parents to avoid the Bellows house, that nothing good could come from the place; but that night, curiosity pried at him. The stranger had given him three iron keys, cool to the touch, each inscribed with a word: Truth, Courage, Faith.
“You’ll need them,” the stranger said. “But only on the other side. They will help you conquer the enemy. It is often said that the greatest treasures are found on the other side of fear.”
Theo pondered over these words.
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Theo crept toward the house under moonlight, with keys in hand. The gate, once frozen shut, creaked open at his touch. Fear wrapped his chest like iron bands. But he remembered: “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
He stepped inside.
The smoke met him first—not from fire, but from memory. Every failure, every shame, every lie he believed about himself swirled in the air like choking ash. He fell to his knees.
Then the Key of Truth glowed. He took it and held it to his heart.
“I am not who they say I am. I am who God says I am.”
The smoke parted.
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The next chamber was lined with tall mirrors. Each reflection worse than the last: a coward, a fool, a traitor. They spoke. They laughed.
Theo reached for the Key of Courage.
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me…” (Psalm 23:4)
He walked forward. The mirrors shattered.
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The final chamber was cold. At its center: a candle, unlit. All was still. But something whispered: “You came this far for nothing. That old man is a liar. God isn’t here. The treasure was a ruse.”
Theo almost turned back. But then he remembered the stranger’s voice, and the glint of stars in his coat.
He drew the Key of Faith and knelt.
“I will trust in You, even when I cannot see.” He struck the candle with a match.
Flame exploded—not in chaos, but in revelation. He knew that he had to exercise faith. Fan it into a flame.
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The walls melted into gardens. Laughter rang from unseen heights. Bells—dozens of them—sang a celestial melody, tuned to the heartbeats of the brave.
At the center, on a pedestal of stone, sat a scroll. Theo opened it. It read:
“On the other side of fear lies what was always meant for you. It was not hidden from you, but for you.”
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
A small golden bell was left also. “To the brave soul who faced their fears.”
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When Theo stepped out, dawn broke. He was never the same. The former owner had devised the house to unlock a persons fears.
The Bellows House vanished; it was gone.
But from its place rose a golden bell tower. Every time someone overcame fear in Blackenridge, the bells rang—not by wind or hand, but by heaven.
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Theo went on to become a successful leader in his community and raised a large family. He passed down the story to everyone that would listen. Face your fears head on, or they will chase you.
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Fear is not the gatekeeper of danger. It is often at the last moment that God calls us to walk into the uncomfortable - because what we seek waits on the other side. We must face this fear. He hasn’t abandoned us, we are being prepared to handle the greater gift…on the other side of fear. It may be golden…