Conquering Fear

I was pretty sure that Chris could hear the pounding of my heart through my chest.  I quadruple checked the restraint to make sure it wasn’t going to somehow pop open, and silently prayed that God would allow me to be able to continue to raise my last child after the three-minute-long death ride was complete.  FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO.  ONE….the Incredicoaster hurled me to my feared torture.  I had ended up on a roller coaster.  Willingly.

To celebrate my 40th birthday, Chris, Peyton, and I packed the car and drove south to Disneyland.  I had never been and as it was a milestone birthday, I wanted to do something big!  I had made my intentions known VERY early on that the roller coaster and the equally horrific Guardians of the Galaxy ride (former Tower of Terror) were off the table.  If Chris wanted to ride those, he was on his own.

However, at some point on Friday as we were riding rides at California Adventure, I decided I was tired of being afraid of everything that I had zero control over.  I’ve been slowly conquering my fear of flying over the course of the last couple of years.  I wasn’t about to have a 24-year roller coaster drought keep me from enjoying time with my family.  I looked at Chris and told him we could Fastpass the coaster, and he didn’t ask twice.

Let me tell you, I loved the Incredicoaster.  L-O-V-E, loved that ride!  And while I prefer to never ride what I adoringly call the Guardians of the Galaxy Death Trap again, I DID ride it, as well!  Chris got to enjoy every theme park attraction that he had wanted to, and I enjoyed the feeling of victory over fear.

Often, we let fear control the better part of our lives, especially when it comes to our Christian walk.  We’re afraid we’ll be seen as ‘weird’ or as a fanatic to the people that surround us in this world.  Sometimes, we’re afraid to trust God and step out in faith for fear that what His plan is for us is one of uncertainty or one of struggle.  We fear asking our Father for what we desire in prayer thinking it’s too trivial.

When we’re afraid, we withhold things.  It could be our time with people or places, missing out on adventures and friendship.  It could be emotions because of the trepidation of being hurt.  Perhaps it’s a ‘thing’ due to possible angst of losing control of it.  We even hold back our intimacy with Jesus.

I do it often.  I shared in last week’s blog that I let fear keep me from developing genuine friendships.  I almost did it last week, when my fear very nearly kept me from enjoying a sweet moment with Chris where he felt the joy of sharing something fun together.

There are many verses in the bible that talk about fear and many that I have to remind myself of on a daily basis.  Here’s one that helps me:

“For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” –Isaiah 41:13

We don’t need to fear things.  He says to us that He will help us.  He helps us when it’s tough, and He helps us when it’s scary.  He helps us when we’re surrounded with grief and when there is uncertainty.  All we need to do is let go of the fear that holds us back and trust that our God is bigger than the circumstance we’re facing, no matter how big or small.  Nothing we are feeling and nothing we ask for is insignificant to Him.

What fear do you need to lay at the feet of Jesus?  Tell us in the comments below so we can pray for you!

~Erin