“The
tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin
it.”
-Unknown-
My brain’s immediate
response in reading the above quote is to fill-in the blank as to why we wait so long to begin life. My
conclusion lies in the quote rephrased below:
“The tragedy of
life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it because of fear.”
How many of you
can relate to the revised quote? How many of you have goals, dreams and
ambitions that {quite frankly} scare you a little bit and the fear of failing
in your pursuit is holding you back? How many of you wrestle with fear of falling
short, of believing your mistakes define you, of not feeling equipped to tackle
the unknown? How many of you fear your fears will come true?
I do.
Fear manifests
itself in people’s lives in a myriad of ways for a number of different reasons.
However, regardless of the reason for fear in your life—the role you allow it
to have in your life is more important than its presence. Often times we live life out of fear not faith which in essence
prevents us from fully living.
So how does one
live by faith?
When I was a
little girl, my father and I would play a modified version of leapfrog. My
father would place me on top of the kitchen counter and then {facing me} he
would start backing up creating distance between us until I said the magic
word, stop! Once my father was anchored in place, on the count of three I would
leap into his arms. Laughing at the thrill of making it safely into my father’s
embrace, he would place me atop the counter again and we would repeat the process—except this time the distance between us was greater than the first
time around and it continued to grow with every leap until my father was so far
away I had a fear of jumping.
This story, as
trivial as it may seem, contains three mighty truths that dispel the power of
fear in your life.
1. God Places You In A Specific Position For
A Specific Purpose
Just as my
father picked me up and placed me on top of the counter, in the same way God
{our Heavenly Father} places us individually where we should be. There is a
plan and purpose for every circumstance you encounter in life and whatever fear(s)
you are combating, if you are a child of God, you are in a position to
overcome!
Fear Dispelled: You are going to fail
because you’re not in a position to succeed.
2. Trust Is The Foundation Of Living By
Faith
If I didn’t
trust my father to catch me when I leaped, I would have been stuck on the
counter top and I would have missed out on experiencing the safety of his
embrace. The same principle applies to your walk with Jesus Christ—you must
exercise trust in order to build faith and experience God’s goodness. The more
you trust God, the more you live by faith and leave a “counter top life” behind.
Fear Dispelled: There is no one to trust
or to catch you when you fall, so stay put.
3. You Cannot Overcome By Your Own Strength
When my father
was so far away I didn’t believe I could safely reach his embrace, fear was
instilled in me because I relied on my own strength to surmount the
distance. In the same way, we cannot rely on our own power to overcome
challenges in life—we will fail every time! It’s only by God’s power and
strength that we can claim victory over sin, fears and other troubles in life.
Fear Dispelled: There is nothing strong
enough to cast away your fears.
Fear has no
claim on your life, God does—because he created you! He also supplies you with
the tools you need to live a life in faith. God’s word says in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of
fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
Fully living is
to live by faith and living by faith is to accept Jesus Christ as your savior
and to trust God in all things knowing the power of the Holy Spirit within you
is greater than dictating fears.
So join me in
choosing faith—it won’t be easy, but it will be liberating! Strip your fears of
their power and start living!
