|
Listen to this devotional: |
Listen while you read: "Come Thou Almighty King"1
(Lyrics) |
One summer, my fear of heights collided with my faith. I was helping with a group of children and youth at our church on a trip to a water park. There was a gigantic water slide with many bumps and curves, and the top was several flights of stairs up.
Part of me wanted to ride it just to overcome my fear. The other part of me wanted to avoid it. That's when our pastor's son, Jonathan, asked me if I was going up on the slide. I looked at him funny.
"Oh, that's right, you are scared of heights." Jonathan said loud enough for others to hear. "Are you scared of heights, Miss Becky?" one of his friends asked. That's when the teasing started. Jonathan whispered, "I was scared the first time I rode it, too. Come on, I will ride with you." My trust was now in the hands of a preteenager.
We got to the top, and the worker put me on a mat behind Jonathan. "Just hold on to the sides of the mat," The worker told us. I had to trust this stranger, and the security of the construction of the slide.
Jonathan looked at me and smiled. It didn't help the butterfly feeling in my stomach.
The worker counted off, "3, 2, 1" and pushed us off. There was no turning back!
At the bottom, we landed in the pool, and both of us were laughing.
My fear collided with my faith.
Just as I had to trust Jonathan, the worker, and the safety of the slide, in life, we have to learn how to trust God in order to overcome our fears.
Isaiah 41:10a – Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. (NKJV)
There are hundreds of other verses in the Bible in which God promises us that if we will just hang on to Him and trust Him, we will have no need to fear. Through good times and bad, God will always be with us.
Psalm 34:4 – I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. (NIV)
Psalm 46:1-2a – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. (NKJV)
Those verses tell us that God is for us, and that He will help us through our fears, in spite of the tough stuff in life that we are faced with: challenges like loss, grief, unemployment, health conditions, and yes, maybe even a taller-than-King-Kong water slide.
Just grab on and trust Him.
Did I go back on the slide again? Yes. Next time I went by myself.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, You told us that in this life, we will experience troubles, but thankfully, You overcame the world. (John 16:33) Thank You for loving us and for keeping a watchful eye on us as we journey through this life until we meet You. Amen.
Forward this devotional Share on Facebook
About the author:
Becky Holland <rlhga@icloud.com>
Empire, Georgia, USA
Send your feedback to the author
Thanks, Becky, for the inspiration.
Thank you for this message of Advent – HOPE.
Thank you, Becky, for this good example of dealing with our fears. I don’t like heights either, so congratulations on your adventure.
Well said, Becky. Thank you for your morning devotional. As my husband and I age (both well over 80), my mantra (and pray) for each day is to accept it as it comes and trust the Lord.
(Texas)
Thank you, Becky, for today’s devotion.
It reminds me of my youthful days when I prayed to God to ease my fears.
And he has been always blessing me ever since then.
(Québec)
Thank you for your encouraging devotional today and sharing your experience in combating fear of heights. Yes, our Lord is surely ever present to help us through fearful or uncertain circumstances and is certainly deserving of our praise and reverence. Blessings for writing.
Good morning, Becky,
Thank you for sharing today’s devotional about your fear of heights. Like you, I am fearful of being too far up off the ground too. When I find myself way up above sea level, I pray to God until I am safely back on the ground.
Peace!
Good morning,
Thank you for this reading today. It is so true and I too had a water slide experience, but I went alone. Overwhelming but it was a good ride. Psalm 34, verses 1-10 were my experience as a new Christian.
God bless!
Good morning, Becky,
I loved how this preteenager encouraged you to faith your “fear”. It is so true that we have fears that we need to face with our faith by trusting in the Lord.
It is always wonderful when someone shares their story and we see our faith in a different way because it helps us to recognize things in our own lives that we have not thought of with that same connection.
Thanks for sharing and enjoy the next thrill. Blessings.
Thank you for your testimony and good verses to hold on to. We have a fear of moving to an independent living apartment and it seems like an impossible task. I have not been good at downsizing – and a friend has suggested a realtor friend who will help us in the move and selling our house. My wife is not quite ready. The realtor is a wonderful Christian and the Lord has given me a clear direction to have her. Pray that my wife may agree. She has just had surgery and needs another month for good recovery. I believe that the Lord will give us faith to overcome our fears, but we really need help.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us! Blessings.
Dear Becky, Thanks for the awesome devotional, it reminds us to always put our Trust in God, he is always there beside us.
Thanks for sharing your devotional with us and looking for others down the line.
Blessings to you.
(Ontario, Canada)