Forward in Faith

Even at seventy-one years of age, I still find that God will take me out of my comfort zone. Once during my morning study I was reading Isaiah 41, and God’s assuring words leapt off the page. “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you” (Is. 41:10, NIV).

We can find the words do not fear scattered throughout our Bible, but this particular passage really “stuck the landing” as they say. It was one of those moments where I just stopped and immersed myself in God’s elevating and tranquilizing words.

I have been retired for almost twenty years, and since that day I have tried my hand at some entrepreneurial endeavors, all with very little success. In each of these attempts, I have felt severe apprehension, not only because it was something new but because it was something I was unfamiliar with. I was out of my comfort zone.

I spent the majority of my life in and around the great game of basketball, both as a player and a high school coach. I know the game very well, and I was surrounded by really good coaches whom I learned the game from growing up. New challenges at new schools weren’t frightening as I was still in my element and was confident in my abilities. Plus, there was a track record to prove it.

However, attempting something I knew little about became terrifying to me. So in hindsight, it isn’t all that shocking that I would remember that five-year-old boy scared to death of jumping off the low diving board for the first time. And it shouldn’t be that surprising that I still am somewhat afraid to launch a new venture. I’m not a psychologist, but I would expect that I experienced a similar trauma response just as I did sixty-six years ago when I was afraid to jump off that one-meter board.

Yet here I am, writing and contributing to The Upper Room, as well as preparing to publish my own collection of writings. The encouragement from a very dear friend and a few others confirmed what the Holy Spirit has been nudging me to do. “What’s the worst that could happen?” she kept reminding me. So I began sending submissions.

One of the most beautiful things that God did for me was to not leave me alone in my quest. He graciously brought this special lady alongside me who encouraged and gave me feedback. What a blessing.

Just as my dad was trying to stretch me and increase my abilities and talents in the swimming pool, God will often stretch us into areas we are either afraid to enter or too timid to try. And just as my dad kept reassuring me that he would be there to catch me as he treaded water, God constantly reassures us that his righteous right hand will always be there for us.

In Psalm 42:5, the psalmist wrote: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” What I have discovered, is that if we are prompted by God to do a thing, then we are to do it. We can pray about it, asking for God’s peace to quiet our anxious minds and hearts, and then trust God with the results.