Shakin' in mah boots....

From Psychology Today:
Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we couldn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But often we fear situations that are in no way life-or-death, and thus hang back for no good reason.

I wish I had an official count of how many times in the Bible are written the words "Fear not." I would even venture to guess that the count is close to the number of times love is mentioned. In hand with both of these is the concept of faith.

My biggest barrier to faith is fear.

I think of the disciple Peter. When Jesus walked on water, Peter asked to join him. Peter had the faith to step out of the boat onto the water. But then he looked away from Jesus and became fearful of the wind and storm. At that point, he let doubt enter his thoughts and lost his focus. Doubt is not the absence of faith it is a test of faith. When he began to sink, he cried out to Jesus and Jesus pulled him to safety.

I feel a storm brewing and I am afraid. I hope that once the storm hits, I will catch a glimpse of Jesus walking on the water towards me. I hope that I will have the faith to step out towards him as well and not lose my focus. The winds will blow, the thunder will boom and I would imagine lightning will strike. Knowing how human I am - I will likely doubt that I am doing the right thing in all this. I may even look away for a moment and begin to sink but it is then I will cry out to Him.... or maybe I'm already at that point. I feel myself sinking and I am crying. Yet I see His hand reaching toward me, ready to pull me to safety. That hand of grace is always there...reaching. And that is my comfort for today.

Any prudent person might suggest I never get out in the storm to begin with. If I know it's coming, just stay home. That is the safe thing to do. That is the easiest, the most comfortable. I could do that very thing but if I do, I may not reach my destination in time. What if I missed my opportunity to witness a miracle? For if the disciples had not been out in that storm, they may have never seen Jesus walk on water and Peter would have never had the faith to try it himself. Perhaps that is next on my bucket list.... walking on water. For now, I'm just trying to find the perfect storm in which to test my faith even if I must grasp the hand of grace a few times in the process.