Now-a-days, it’s the most common question I’m asked, and the focal point of most of my conversations. In fact, today alone I’ve been asked at least 4 separate times, “are you nervous about your trip?” My genuine response is, “No, not at all.”
I can’t sit here and even pretend like my current state of fearlessness has anything to do with me. I’m going to be incredibly vulnerable with you for a hot second and say that, generally speaking, I get anxious about a lot of things. I try and carry myself in such a way that I appear confident in all situations (I think that’s the athlete in me; I want to seem tough), but that’s not always how I’m feeling on the inside. Fear is a funny thing–it’s something that I think everyone struggles with to some degree. Being afraid is a very human thing, a reality of life. Have you ever paid attention to how many times the Bible mentions fear? From Genesis to Revelation, we read some form of a command to “fear not” literally hundreds of times. That’s a lot! 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but rather a spirit of power. Fear is not from the Lord. I repeat: FEAR IS NOT FROM THE LORD! Fear is just another deception from the devil himself. From a human standpoint, there is much to be afraid of in life. This earth is freaking terrifying! But when we view things from an eternal perspective (Colossians 3:2), and when we consider who is sitting on the throne, we can take a deep breath and relax. God’s got everything under control (Psalm 46), and He’s got His children’s best interest in mind (Romans 8:28).
My prayer throughout the entire World Race application process wasn’t that I would be accepted into the program, rather it was “Lord, if you don’t want me to do this, slam the door shut.” He flung it wide open, and ever since I committed to this thing, it’s been affirmation after affirmation after affirmation…. I am 100% confident that God Almighty has ordained for me to do the World Race. There’s not a question in my mind of whether or not this is His will. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m not afraid. I’m sure there will be plenty of times throughout this next year when fear will start creeping back into my thoughts, but in those moments I’m determined that I will remind myself of who is in charge (Psalm 56:3).
So, am I nervous about my trip? Nope. God’s got this. He’s got all of it. I have absolutely nothing to fear because I’ve got the King of Kings holding my hand (Isaiah 41:10).
