Your Fears Are Making You Weak

Have you ever had a friend witness your fear overtaking you? This happened to me when I was on vacation with friends in Florida.

Josh and I noticed the tide was down in a canal where boats were docked. Boats came under a bridge and turned toward the docks, avoiding a sandbar in the middle. With the tide low, people anchored their boats and swam a short distance to play in the sandbar.

We watched on the shore a hundred yards away.

We looked at each other and in a flash, we took off our shoes and shirts and raced for the water.

I dove in first, thinking I could get a jump on Josh. I have never been a strong swimmer; Josh, on the other hand, was basically raised by dolphins. I got out about twenty yards and felt the current pulling me toward the ocean. I realized I was swimming sideways. I was not going to make it. I turned and swam back to the shore, fearing being swept out into the ocean.

*Photo Credit: Davitydave, Creative Commons

While I swam to shore, Josh passed me and headed straight toward the sandbar. I caught my breath and walked fifty yards up the shoreline to work an angle. I watched as Josh arrived on the beach. I jumped in again and made it halfway before the current started pulling me again.

Fear set in.

My anxiety was rising and back to the shore I swam. But I wasn’t done yet. This time I was visualizing my path to the sandbar, while imagining my arms and legs in a smooth forward motion like Michael Phelps. I heard Josh from the sandbar, “You got this, you were so close!”

I jumped in and got ahead of the current. I’ve never paddled so hard in my life.

Go. Go. Go. Breathe.

Go. Go. Go. Breathe.

I’m not going to make it.

Keep going. Breathe.

I can’t breathe.

Turn around.

Fail.

I let fear overtake me again.

Meanwhile, as Josh was finding starfish in the sand, I was sitting where I started frustrated with my failure. I had the physical strength to make it across that canal, but I wasn’t strong enough mentally.

Fear is my constant companion and toughest competition. When fear drives my decisions, I make weak choices. However, when my friends offer unconditional love and stand with me in my fears, the embarrassment inside of me is pushed aside. Josh and I have talked about that day many times. I’ve told him how embarrassed I was by the whole situation. He has never once made me feel bad about it and vows to go back with me.

He does not hold my fear against me.

But fear is not going away.

I’m reminded of this in Genesis 3. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they hid from God. God asked Adam why they were hiding and Adam responded, ‘I was afraid.’ It was the first instance of fear and from that time, fear has been present.

However, when fears overtake the problems we are called to solve, we miss out on the stories we’ve been designed to live.

I was strong enough to swim across the canal, but my fear was more persistent than my strength.

What fears are limiting your unique design today? May we learn to overcome them with courage.

Your Fears Are Making You Weak is a post from: Storyline Blog