“I’m afraid to drive around here–I get lost!” a good friend told me the other day.
“I have directions written down, and I try to follow them, but sometimes I’m so focused on reading the directions, I totally drive right past where I’m trying to go, and then I don’t know where to go.” she continued.
The streets in her neighborhood are confusing. One-ways and “do not enter” signs complicate things. And she’s new to the area. And she doesn’t drive a lot because. . .
She’s afraid.
As we continued our chat I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind that there was a day and time when this lack of directions was a real problem.
How did we find our destination without maps on our phones?
So, I offered a solution because you know, that’s what I always try to do. . . fix the problem.
“Why don’t you get a GPS?” (I was assuming she did not have a smart phone.)
“Oh, I have one. My phone has one, but I don’t like using it. I prefer directions on paper. I tried using the map on the phone the other day, and it said to go North! Which way is North! It made me so nervous.”
I know her fear. I used to feel the very same way. My husband (Mr. Gadget) LOVES technology, so we had a big clunky GPS before most people had one and long before smart phones hit the market. He loved it, and I hated it because I did not know how to use it.
Once I got comfortable with the soon to be out-of-date GPS, my kids started using the maps on their smart phones. And that totally intimidated me until I pushed back the fear, tried it, and realized the maps on the smart phone were more up to date than my dinosaur GPS. But I will say, as with everything, there was a small learning curve, and the more I used this technology, the more comfortable I was with it.
But it took practice, pushing through fear, making some wrong turns, and learning to trust I would get to my destination.
We live in a day when you don’t have to get lost. Directions are at our fingertips.
But fear will keep us home.
Fear is powerful.
It can keep us from finding freedom.
It can hold us from experiencing God’s blessings.
This week I’ve had to push through a huge fear.
I started videoing a short teaching of the “bite” for the day on a new app called Periscope. Periscope is a app you can get on your phone that allows you to watch and participate in live videos of those you “follow”. Twitter is its parent company.
It is the scariest thing I’ve done in a long time. Scarier than learning to drive a six-speed manual transmission. (Which I have conquered. A-hem.)
But I HATE video.
But God. God is teaching me to trust Him as He leads. He wants me to push through my fears so I can get over myself, and bring glory to Him. It’s about the message, not the messenger. And I’ve learned over and over that God blesses faith.
I’ve got a theory.
God does not want us to be afraid, and when we are fearful of something, we need to grab His hand and charge fear head on.
Because fear chains us.
It keeps us from receiving the blessings He has for us.
Let’s pray.
“Father, you are not the author of fear. You promise us strength and courage and that you are with us. Open our eyes to the lies fear feeds us. Give us the courage to face it head on and to keep on facing it until we’re comfortable with the new technology or six gears, or video, or new town you’re calling us to move to, or new job, or blogging, or whatever fear we are allowing to hold us hostage. We want to know your freedom and your blessings. Amen.”
What are you afraid of?
Jesus loves you,
ps. You can find my on Periscop at 9:00 Monday-Friday @ wordsbyandylee.
Thank you, I also am facing many challenges right now.
Judy! I miss you! I’ll be praying for you.
Thank you Andy
Andrea Lynn, do you remember what PaPa always said he was afraid of??? He would always say~~”I’m not afraid of anything but poverty.”~~and of course the laughs would come. Of course you have to understand that cowboy sense of humor. Nannie
Dear Andy I am planning to move which I know the Lord wants me to do. But in the process it is fearful.
Dear Andy you seem to know what we are not sharing.
Right now I am beginning to plan a move that is going to be better for me Once I’ve moved. Right now it is the unknown
Be brave, Jan! I am so excited about your move. I love Trinity Grove. My neighbor is the chaplain there and she is wonderful! Pastor, Rachel. No fear, Jan. Many of us are praying for you. Much love!
What timing God has… Just last night I was journaling and the words “what am I so afraid of” made it on to the page a few times. He reminded me that in the situation I was writing about, there is no reason to fear because it’s part of the journey He has created for me. Thank you for being God’s reinforcer for me today. :)
Hey Erica! I love when God does that! Be brace girl! I’ll be praying for your courage. Thanks for stopping by!
I’m just learning about Periscope and am very impressed at your courage to both try the new technology and videotape your messages. It’s hard to hear your own voice let alone seeing yourself on the screen. You go girl!
What do I fear? I’ve been pondering this lately based on a sermon by Andy Stanley Do Not Fear. Public speaking makes me nervous, but I long to do it. My biggest fear, probably, is losing one of my kids.
I’ll look for you on Periscope. Is it only available LIVE? Or can I access it later in the day?
Hi Cathy! Periscope videos can be replayed for 12 hours after you’ve been live (I think). Thanks for the encouragement. You know exactly what I’m afraid of! As far as your fear of losing a child, I can’t imagine that pain either. So I pray for their safety and God to protect the destiny he has spoken into them, and then I have to trust His timing and our hope. Thanks for sharing!
Oh Andy….you are so right! Fear is like a huge chain, keeping us tethered to the familiar. Thanks for sharing your heart.
Hi Jeanne! Thanks for stopping by! I know you teach on this too. Kindred spirits :) We teach about it because we know the freckles on fear’s face, don’t we? But he hasn’t won. Much love.