This summer I had the opportunity to spend a week at camp with a group of high school students from Spokane Youth for Christ. On the first night the speaker (Rayski) taught us this chant:
Let’s take it to ‘em
Let’s do this thing
The Lord is God
Whom shall I fear?
Nobody here
So let’s take it to ‘em
Let’s do this thing
Rayski used this and the story of Peter walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33) to challenge the students to step out of their comfort zones and take risks that week. During that week I also sensed that God is calling me to be courageous and step out of my comfort zone.
It was the beginning of August and I had just started my application for The World Race. I was living in the midst of the unknown and was full of fear – fear of not knowing what was next. At one point during the week we had a chance to take our students on the high ropes course (a series of wire challenges 40ft above ground).
I also took this opportunity to stretch and challenge myself. At one point on the course I became crippled with fear. I had to cross this wire but I couldn’t even step onto it from the platform. Trying to muster up courage I thought, “What’s the worst case scenario? The worst case scenario is that I fall trying to step onto this wire.” At that moment I realized that even my worst case scenario wasn’t really that bad because even if I fell I was still attached to a wire over my head – I had full trust that my harness would hold me tight. So full of fear and faith I stepped out for the wire and … I made it! I made it all the way through the course without falling. However, even if I had fallen there was nothing to fear because I was securely held in my harness.
As I prepare for The World Race the lesson from this story is at the forefront of my mind. To be honest I’m full of fear and anxiety about going and doing this, taking part in this adventure. It’s almost as if I’m up on those wires often too fearful to take another step with all of the “what if’s” running through my brain: What if I don’t raise enough money? What if I miss out on something important? What if this really isn’t for me? What if I “fall”? While the reality of it is that even if I “fall” (fail to raise enough money, miss out or get in over my head) I need not fear because the harness of God’s love and faithfulness holds me secure.
So full of fear and faith I continue to step, learning to trust God every step of the way. As I’ve been practicing this over the last few weeks I’ve become less fearful and more excited about this journey I’m preparing to embark on. So as Rayski said:
Let’s take it to ‘em
Let’s do this thing
The Lord is God
Whom shall I fear?
Nobody here
So let’s take it to ‘em
Let’s do this thing
