Overcoming Fear

I have a love hate relationship with bridges. I love to look at them and explore them.

I hate to ride over long bridges or walk over them if they are not stable.

On a day trip, I decided to stop and walk a new walking trail. I’d ridden by it numerous times but never walked the trail.

Sometimes we have to face our fears

After walking around the lake, I approached a bridge. The cement ended, and the bridge was wooden. Although the bridge was stable, I could see the holes and as the bridge approached higher to tower over the road I felt

fear rise in me.

Everything in me wanted to turn back but I knew I had to face this fear. The entire way across the bridge I muttered over and over “God help me. God help me.”

I was relieved to reach the other side of the bridge. But there was a problem. The only way back to the car was across the bridge again.

I couldn’t face that. Not yet.

By keeping my eyes on God I made it across the bridge

I walked a little further. By the time I turned around and returned to the bridge I felt a little stronger.

Taking a deep breath, my resolve increased. I pictured Jesus walking beside me and reached out my hand, seeing him take my hand in His. I allowed Him to lead the way.

With each step I uttered “I can do all things through God who gives me strength. My God is bigger than this bridge.”   {Philippians 4:13, Matthew 19:26}

Only as I reached the highest point on the bridge did I say “God help me” between my assurances. When I wanted to look down I kept my eyes on my destination at the end of the bridge.

Once again, I was relieved to reach the other side of the bridge, but I felt stronger and as if barriers had been knocked down.  I had grown by facing my fear of this bridge.

How has God strengthened you?

I was reminded of other troubles in life I face. In those troubles I can also remind myself that “I can do all things through God who gives me strength. My God is bigger than this problem.”

What fear do you need to overcome?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.