Sadie Robertson of "Duck Dynasty" fame has thanked her fans for encouraging her and praying for her after she went through a "frightening" ordeal, and shared how her faith comforts her in even the scariest of times.
"Thank you every single person who said they have been praying for me to have peace today," the 20-year-old "Live Original" author wrote in an Instagram post. "Working on texting everyone back, and just want to thank everyone on Instagram too...This community is amazing. Keep encouraging each other!"
Robertson was referring to a previous Instagram post, in which she revealed she had been followed by three men while she was at the mall. When she went to her car in the parking lot, they were waiting for her.
While the model and actress doesn't reveal the rest of the incident, she thanked God for keeping her safe and sent a message of encouragement to her fans to "not be afraid" in similar situations.
"Tonight was a very frightening night," Robertson wrote Monday night. "I walked out into the parking garage and saw a white van parked beside my car with 3 men that had been previously been following me in the mall."
She added, "You hear this story all the time... I won't go into the details of mine."
Willie and Korie's daughter said the encounter made her remember that "even though we serve a GOOD God...scary things can happen at anytime, because until the day Jesus comes back evil will still be in the world."
Despite the terrifying ordeal, she is "thankful to be able to have joy knowing I'm protected in the shadow of [God's] wing."
Robertson said she's "really thankful for good people" like her father, who answered the phone to calm her spirit, her Heavenly Father, who sent His Spirit to comfort her, and the worship band Hillsong United, "for the words of their songs that I had embedded in my brain when thoughts of fear were wanting to take over."
She also encouraged her fans to be aware of their surroundings.
"I'm praying for bravery over every person who encounters a situation like the one I did tonight," she concluded.
In a YouTube video published on Tuesday, Robertson shared how, despite her scary experience, her faith allows her to life free of fear.
She cited Proverbs 3:5: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
"I feel like if you live a life of fear, if you live a life of anxiety, panic..then you're kind of isolated and you kind of feel like you live with prison bars in front of you that you can't really get out of," she said. "You know you have the key, but you just won't get out. As soon as you get out, you're as free as a bird...you have a freedom, because you just said 'no' to fear. You said 'Not today, I'm walking out of this door.'"
Robertson was recently cast in a new Hallmark Channel film, Sun, Sand and Romance, and wrapped her filming in Mexico last week.
