Different Things God is teaching Me

FEARING YOUR SELF...OR FOLLOWING YOUR SAVIOR?

It is so easy for us to fear ourselves, for we know by our own conscience what we are capable of as fallen human beings. (Romans 1:18-19, 6:14-24, Job 9:19-20, Psalm 51, Luke 5:1-13, etc.) God has called us to "guard our hearts with all diligence for from them flow the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23) Yet, has God anywhere in His Word, commanded that we should be afraid of ourselves?
As one wise poet said, "Darkness drives us to the light." We were not destined to dwell and focus on the darkness but rather be inspired and be driven toward the light of God. If we focus and dwell completely on what we lack and who we are not, we (though unintentionally) create for ourselves a master and an idol of obsessive introspection.* It is an idol because we place ourselves at the center of our system. Our lives (like Atlas with the world) hinge on us and we fear that if we should fail, the system of our lives will collapse with us.
But this is not the truth because this fear perceives/deceives life as being ultimately dependent on us, not God. "Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." (Psalm 100:3) The shepherd does not expect the sheep to lead themselves but rather that they should look to Him and follow Him. We can and should acknowledge our weakness without being consumed by it. To acknowledge our insufficiency and despairing of ourselves yet not also acknowledging Christ's sufficiency and hope is a half-truth that becomes a dark blanket that Satan would seek to smother us with.
Yet we can see throughout God's Word, our story does not end at a cross, in despair. That is only the middle of our story. The end of our story is the resurrected Son of God as our living hope. (1 Peter 1:3-5) While we acknowledge that our heart and flesh will fail, in that same breath, we acknowledge (along with David) that God is the strength of our heart and our portion forever. (Psalm 73:26) While praying that God would bring revelation to any wicked way hidden in me, afterwards, I pray that He will bring His salvation by leading me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24) And while denying myself, taking up my cross, laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares me, I do not stop there but look unto Christ as the author and finisher of my faith, and follow Him. (Matthew 16:24-25, Hebrews 12:1-3)

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*Paul and the writers of the Psalms were masters at introspection. Inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, they articulated the depths of human weakness and wickedness, yet in none of their contemplations  did they write of this fallen world without acknowledging at the end of it all: God is Savior and Sovereign.