“Auntie Mary! How do I get down?”
I heard these words coming from my sweet four-year old niece, Maria. I had joined one of my sisters at the park on that sunny morning and was enjoying time with some of my nieces and nephews. As I turned to see where she was, I realized she had climbed to the top of the spider web shaped piece of playground equipment.
“Just come down one step at a time, Maria!”
And with those small words of encouragement, she scrambled down.
One step at a time.
How many times have I found myself at the “top” of a situation or circumstance and, as I looked down at where I needed to go, fear grabbed a hold of me and I felt paralyzed?
Christi Sunden just finished leading an incredible womens study on fear and faith during the Sunday School hour and then this past week at small group we were all struck with one of the questions on the sermon outline,
“What would change in your life if you truly did not fear anything in this world because your confidence is rooted in Christ’s unending love for you?”
As I look back on that small group discussion, that Sunday school class, and my niece’s frantic words on the playground, I think the questions and answers are the same:
Question: What do I do when I’m afraid?
Answer: Have faith in God.
Fear only creeps in when we’ve forgotten God’s love for us and His promise to never leave or forsake us.
Deuteronomy 31:6 says,
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
One step at a time.
The Lord has promised to go with us. He won’t abandon us at the “top.” I’m not sure what it is that is causing you to fear. It may be uncertainty in a relationship, a dream that appears to be slipping away, a need that seems impossible to meet, the thought of losing loved one, or the idea of disappointing someone. But when we look at those fears in light of who God is, they disappear. We see them for what they really are: just mere distractions that are taking our eyes off of Jesus.
Yet just like Maria couldn’t immediately reach the bottom of the spider web, we too have to approach our fears one step at a time.
One step at a time.
One moment at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time. Again and again surrendering those fears to the Lord and replacing them with faith in the promises He gives us in scripture. Share your fear with a fellow believer and ask for prayer! We weren’t created to do this alone.
We can have faith in His love for us, in His plan for us, and in the truth that living this life to bring glory to Him alone is what we were created for.
When you find yourself at the “top” and fear grabs a hold of you as you look down, remember Who has promised to never “…leave or forsake you.”
With God in control, we have nothing to fear.