Take a Deep Breath - FAITH!

It's winter.

I'm standing on the edge of a mountain, looking down at the steep slope that is before me.

I've skied this slope before, I know I can do it again, but looking down my legs start to quiver.  It's too hard.  It's too steep.  I can't do it.

I take a deep breath...

It's fall.

I'm standing on the edge of the boat, looking at the deep water that is before me, wakeboard in hand.

Nerves seem to gum up my actions.  I'm reluctant to get into the cold water, knowing what will be asked of me in a few moments.  It's too hard.  I can't jump the wake.

I take a deep breath...

It's summer.

I'm standing on the edge of a street corner, looking at the people walking towards me.

I talk to strangers every day.  The human race is actually quite nice if you give them a chance, but still I hesitate.  I'm fearful of what they'll say.  It's too hard.  I don't have what it takes.

I take a deep breath...

And I go.

Have you ever felt that paralyzing fear?  That build up of anxiety and uncertainty just before you make a decision?  In those circumstances you really only have two options: you let the fear keep you from taking that step forward, or you push past it and do it anyways.  Usually, the thing that keeps us from acting is our own self-doubt.  Nothing truely physical blocks our path, just ourselves!

Let me use an example.  It comes from "Cleansing the Inner Vessel". 

"Many of us are like the elephant that, as a baby, was tied to a large tree. It tried many times to pull away from the tree. It eventually gave up. And when the chain was later taken off the tree and attached to a small stake, the fully grown elephant never even tried to get away. By then, it had given up all hope of freedom and had become imprisoned not by the chain, but by its own set of false beliefs."

Sometimes when we are faced with opposition we fail multiple times and we allow that failure to give us the mindset that we can't do it.  This builds fear and is a difficult roadblock to break through.  Yet we must!  If we are going to reach the potential that is inside all of us we must break through our own self-limits!  How?  How do we take the step forward when our mind is screaming at us that we can't?

It takes faith.

We must learn to learn on Christ.  We must learn to trust Him.  He will prepare the way for us to succeed.  Even when we don't, we can have the faith that He will help us stand up, brush off the dirt of despair, and send us on our way to try again.  He has sent us to this Earth to succeed, and success isn't measured by outward results, but by the inner effort we put into it.

Through Christ's example and teachings, we can find the faith to keep moving forward.  We can have the peace to keep going, even if we do fall.  We won't be worried about what other people think because we will be entirely focused on doing His will, opposing opinions will cease to trouble us.  In Him we will find strength, in Him we will keep going to the very end.

Down the slope, I feel the rush of the wind and the snow beneath my feet.  The mountain quickly flies by at an exhilarating pace.

Into the water, then onto the water, I hang on tight to the rope that pulls me, handling the waves as they come.  I cut through the water, sending up a thrilling spray behind me.

Up to the person, I shake their hand and bear my testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that through Him we can find the greatest strength and peace in this life.  A new light appears in their eyes, and I know that they have felt the truth of the statement.

I have succeeded.