Guest Post by Ryan Jantzen ryanjantzen@comcast.net
Courage: When you feel the fear and do it anyway!!
What is it about fear that is so debilitating to us? Why do we let it stop us? Why do we ‘feel’ it? Is fear legitimate? Is fear from God? Fear is the direct opposite of LOVE. If God is LOVE is fear somewhere we really want to be – directly opposed to God?
I made a deal with myself a few years ago…
If I ‘fear’ something I have to do it. I have to summon up courage and push through my doubts and fears. Now if the fear is something real because I’d be in real danger then I don’t do it, but most fear is imagined – nervous, anxious, worried so then I have to go for it.
“If I fear something I know I have to do it” says ultra distance swimmer Kimberley Chambers “because just on the other side of my greatest fear and uncomfortableness is where the treasure lies! If I push through the fear and discomfort that’s where I find the magical place”. This from someone who swam the English Channel and many other major ocean swims. It’s about putting your trust in something greater than your fears. It’s about surrendering and fully putting your faith (and maybe even your life) in God’s hands. Leaning on God fully and trusting in Him and not our own feelings or perceptions. Surrender!
What is holding you back?
What are the fears that are keeping you from finding your ‘TREASURE’? What obstacles do you need to overcome / push through? What awaits you on the other side? Sometimes we can see the prize that awaits us if we overcome and sometimes we have no idea so we push through blindly. Those moments are often the greatest as we find unexpected treasure greater and different than we ever imagined. There is so much waiting for us. God has laid out so many blessings for us. We just need to push through our fears to get to them. Trust Him! He has promised us that he is always with us and that His plans for us are always good. Is God a liar? I don’t think so, but if we let fear stop us we are saying we don’t believe what God has promised. Choose to believe Him. Put your trust in Him!
What do you fear?
Is it physical like climbing a tall mountain, jumping out of a plane, white water rafting or swimming in the ocean? Is it emotional like having an honest talk with your spouse about something you’ve done or baggage you have packed up from the past that you’ve tried to hide from everyone? Is it spiritual like questioning God or the church and is He really who He says He is?
3 Challenges
- I challenge you today to just be honest with yourself about what your real fears are.
- I challenge you to conquer the physical, emotional and spiritual fears you’re facing.
- I challenge you to strip off the mask you’ve been hiding behind and reveal to the world who you ‘really’ are. Let people see you with your flaws, mistakes, screw ups and accomplishments. Let people accept you for ALL that you are. You’ll be surprised how great it can feel to be authentic. What if people don’t like the real you? What if you lose friends? Were they really your friends if they didn’t accept the real you, but just wanted the masked man. Pushing through fear isn’t easy and this challenge is BIG, but it is SO worth it because on the other side is where the treasure lies!!
No Kryptonite!
We often let fear define our boundaries and keep us boxed-in / trapped with limitations. What if fear had no power over you? What if you didn’t accept its’ limitations? What if there was no Kryptonite and you could just fly like Superman? That would provide a lot more room in your life for LOVE! What if you placed your faith in God to help you overcome your fear? What if you believed His promise that He is always with you and always for you and that he will never abandon you? He says ‘always’ and ‘never’, not ‘maybe’ or ‘sometimes’. These are bold statements of total support. It can be hard to fully to surrender when you define God by your own ‘humanness’, but God is greater. God is stronger. God is more than we can ever comprehend. God is in all things, for all things and with all things. God is LOVE! That love is for YOU! All you have to do is trust in it and surrender to it…
Place you fear in God’s hands and do it anyway. You’ll be amazed at the treasures you find!!