Day 23 – Fit For Life Challenge
It’s Day 23!
Today is a special day! Today my class starts back up at the gym! I’m so excited , but nervous too! I have found that most anything worth doing usually scares me a little (or a lot!). If you are going to make a fresh start with something, or try something new, you will probably have to face a fear or two. If you are trying to make a fresh start with your faith or your fitness, you most certainly will have to get past your fears. Fear has a way of paralyzing us, keeping us from taking that next step. Fear can keep us from reaching our potential. It can keep us from launching out and doing the things we would really like to do! Accomplishing something life-changing usually lies on the other side of our fear.
In Mark chapter 10 we read about a blind man named Bartimaeus. He sat by the roadside begging. When he heard Jesus was coming, he began to yell out and ask Jesus to heal him. Now there was a big crowd of people following Jesus. He had to know that yelling out loudly to Jesus probably wasn’t the right thing to do while Jesus was walking and talking to the people. He was facing the fear of rejection of the other people by doing this, but being healed by Jesus was more important to him. The people around him told him to be quiet, but he yelled even louder. Jesus heard his cries, and indeed healed him and gave him his sight. This man knew that the people would look down on him for yelling out to Jesus, but he was desperate!He knew Jesus was the only one who could help him. The people in telling him to be quiet, was their way of saying that Jesus had more important things to do than to heal him. This of course wasn’t true. That man chose faith over his fear of rejection.
When we see an opportunity to make changes in our life, just like the people telling Bartimaeus to be quiet, we will hear shouts from within ourselves and around us telling us not to rock the boat. We hear all kinds of shouts! Fear will lie to us and tell us we’re not good enough, that we will fail, remind us of past failures, and make us afraid of what others will think.
But God is asking you to do something greater than you may have ever done before; That is to depend on him completely in whatever changes you know you need to make in your life. Fear will rob you of a deeper relationship with God, fully committing yourself to him, and keeping you from a deep abiding joy and peace! Fear can keep you from serving others. Fear can keep you from being all you can be spiritually and physically. Fear can be a liar. But when God asks something of us, we have a choice. We can fall back on our fears and stay the way we are, or we can move past our fear and step forward in faith. God is always waiting on the other side anytime we take a step in faith.
But get this.., God has shown me there can be great value in fear. Because when I’m scared to death about doing something, or putting myself out there, being bold in my faith, or whatever… that’s when I realize I cannot do it on my own! That’s when I KNOW I NEED HIM!! That is when I cry out to Jesus like Bartimaeus! I think about all the times in the Bible where the Lord says FEAR NOT… these are all pivotal times in people’s lives where they have needed courage and direction. That is when they are going into battle, facing their giants, taking big risks, going into uncharted territory or being persecuted for their faith! Fear makes them look to the Lord ! If we can handle everything on our own, we wouldn’t need Him! When I’m scared, I cry out to Jesus . That’s when I hear him say FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU! Don’t settle and continue to live in fear. Don’t think your goals are unattainable and decide you shouldn’t try at all! Cry out to Jesus! Let’s look at Ephesians 3:20,”Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Yes! Cry out to him when you feel the fear of stepping out and doing something bold, something new, something life-changing! He can do exceedingly abundantly more than we can even ask or think!
Action Step 23👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Write down your goals for yourself in your journal or somewhere you can keep and look back on. Don’t be afraid to have big goals or dreams! Do they seem scary? Well that’s a great time to cry out to the Lord for help! Now out beside each one, write a fear that could potentially get in the way. Pray specifically about each one of those fears and allow Him to tell you FEAR NOT!!
