Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway

The Old Testament saints were commended by God for having great faith. These members of the "Great Faith Hall of Fame" simply believed God and obeyed.

Were they ever afraid? I'm sure they were. Possibly terrified, feeling insecure, and maybe foolish. Not unlike how we may feel today when confronted with a situation where we must step out in faith. Face it, if God doesn't provide sure footing, we will fall, we will fail and we will look foolish. But usually, looking foolish is the least of our problems.

I don't recall God criticizing these saints on feeling fearful as long as their fear was accompanied by a heart set on obedience. He actually commended them for their actions and ignored the series of emotions they journeyed through before setting their sights on the goal and "going for it."

They felt the fear and did it anyway.

I'm coming to believe that this is a natural process. Something God expects when He pushes us to do something outside our comfort zone. If we would simply consider trepidation to be part of the package, something we must factor into the process, I believe we would become more comfortable with the entire procedure. Then we could more readily come to peace with our decisions of faith.

Some people view the fear in their lives as the deciding factor as to whether or not they should attempt certain things. When they feel fearful they decide it must not be God urging them on. This belief allows them to justify backing off from the project, dream or action.

God doesn't ask us to do foolish things but sometimes, to us, they may appear to be foolish. More often than not, they are certainly difficult or uncomfortable. Why then should we expect to feel comfortable about doing the uncomfortable, difficult or seemingly foolish? At least a moment of fear must be normal.

But scripture says that without faith it is impossible to please God. So, at some point, faith must replace the fear.

For this to happen, we must CHOOSE to step out in faith. We must logically decide to follow what we trust the Lord is urging us to do. I believe when we do this, Jesus is standing on the other side of that decision with the peace to calm our sea of emotions.

As it has been said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." So, feel free to feel the fear. But then take that step anyway.

A friend of mine who is a mountain guide once explained to me, "When climbing, you concentrate on the next step. You don't look down. If you do, you get disoriented and dizzy. Just take it one step at a time. Trust your guide. Trust your gear. Trust your training."

Peter was able to walk on the water when he kept his eyes on Jesus and just did what he was called to do. He began to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus. He began to sink when he considered the circumstances without seeing Jesus in them.

When Jesus calls us to walk out in faith He calls us to obey, not analyze the circumstances. He is Lord of the circumstances. He can transform situations around us when we are obedient. All He asks us to do is to be obedient in taking the step in front of us.

So, feel the fear and do it anyway. One step at a time.

Article Source: http://christian-topics.info

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