Take the Plunge
My daughter stood shivering in the sunshine, glancing frequently at the narrow, steep white tube slide several feet away. It kinda looked like fun, but it also looked scary. It rushed straight down into 12 feet of water, where kids were plunged with great speed into the deep. She played in the shallow end for a while longer, took a few jumps off the diving board and kept peeking over at the tube slide. Would she be brave enough to take the plunge?
After we had been there for over an hour, she finally got up the nerve to get in line and try the slide out. I watched her fly down and splash into the water. After she successfully swam to the edge, she looked for me, hoping I had seen and was cheering her on from the sidelines. “It’s fun, Mom! It isn’t scary at all,” she said as she hopped right back in line for another turn down the wild water-slide.
It amazes me how long she sat on the edge of pool, wondering if she would have fun, but holding back because of fear. I think we can all identify a place in our lives where we are waiting for someone to push us in, because we are paralyzed by fear. A new job – sounds exciting, but also unnerving with all the new tasks to learn, people to meet, and different policies to follow. A move can be equal parts adventure and fear also. Will your new neighbors be friendly or crabby? Will you make new friends, find a good church, settle in?
But there are some things that hover in the back of our minds for years before we take the step of faith and take the plunge. Fear keeps us in our comfortable homes, with our cozy friends and family, immobilizing us so we are unable to listen to God’s calling. Maybe you’ve always wondered about ministering overseas, but the worries about finances have kept that dream at bay. Or, are you wondering how to share your faith with someone at work without stumbling over your words and looking like a fool?
Could it be that God is calling you to something more adventurous than just wading in the shallow end of the pool? Is He asking you to jump in, to feel the thrill and exhilaration of following His plans into the great unknown? My daughter’s slide into the deep showed me that fear just keeps us from the fun of life. Fear holds me back from doing what would be most fulfilling in my life and fear traps me at home where life is predictable and boring.
When I just plug my nose and jump in though, I realize that I had nothing to fear at all. God’s plans are exciting and adventurous, filled with some mystery and surprises, but I won’t discover that if I don’t step beyond the fear. The unknown may seem a bit scary, but I’m following a God who can be trusted. The circumstances may not always look safe, but I feel safe in His grip.
Is fear holding you back from something today? Let God replace your fear with faith, trusting that He may guide you into deeper waters, but He will never leave you alone.
Such a wonderful post dear.
Wow! What a powerful message! yes, we let fear hold us back from God’s exciting and adventurous plans for our lives! Great reminder that his plans would be most fulfilling in our lives. Great post 🙂 you are a good writer!
Oh Heather.
Neat post and so well written. Love this: God’s plans are exciting and adventurous, filled with some mystery and surprises,
Amen my friend. Hugging you.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging post.
Great post, Heather. I like this line….I won’t discover that if I don’t step beyond the fear.
Thank you for this encouragement!
Amen to that Heather. Yes, I often fear the unknown, but like you said, there is nothing to fear because God can be trusted. Thank you for the reminder.