Breaking the Fear

February 3, 2015

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ – Isaiah 41:10

Fear can paralyze you. I went for a walk a few weeks back with our new Golden Retriever puppy.  He is so full of energy and life and surprising strength for such a little thing.  As we walking along he is happily prancing the grass along the edge of the road on an extension leash, while I walked down the center of the road (more or less).  Every now and then he would reach the end of the leash and it would remove all of the slack and he would pull against it, only to realize it wasn’t going to give and he would come back closer; happily trotting along. 

We came upon the storm drains on the sides of road in our neighborhood.  You know the ones I’m referring to ~ 6 feet long x 6” high built into the curb and connected underground to the sewer.  I was surprised to see him freeze in his tracks and pull back against the leash.  He actually started backing up, rather than proceed near these drains on the side of the road.  I pulled the leash and he locked his paws and pulled back as hard as he could, using every muscle in his small body to avoid walking near that drain.  Then he laid down and refused to move.

We had walked past these drains dozens of times before as he grew from 6 weeks to 4 months, so I was uncertain why he reacted this way on this walk.  I actually had to pick him up carry him past the drain, put him back down and he was completely happy again, bouncing and running in the grass.  Now, every time we go for a walk it’s the same reaction when we come upon a storm drain, and not just that one from the first day, any storm drain ignites the same reaction.

Fear of something has entered his mind and he is associating it with storm drains.  I’m not sure if it’s a smell coming from within or whether he has a fear of falling down inside (although at this point he has grown to big to ever fit), but something has him seriously afraid of drawing to close.  The last few times we’ve walked him I’ve learned to draw his leash close to me and walk down the center of the road (10 to 12 feet from the drain) and he walks right past them.  He is still somewhat skiddish but doesn’t stop in paralyzed fear.

Aren’t we the same way though.  There are things we run into in life that frighten us to the point of paralyzing any forward momentum.  We choose to back up or simply lay down in defeat, and stop trying.  We fail to realize that our Father in Heaven is walking right along side of us and is more powerful than anything we come upon.  Fear is a very real obstacle in making progress in our Christian walk and we must overcome it through belief that He alone is more powerful and will see us through. 

Just as our puppy (Boomer) needs to trust in my guiding hand and strength to overcome his fears we must trust in our Lord to overcome ours.  Nothing in this world is beyond His reach and/or control.  Your faith will see you through the hardships and overcome the fears if you allow it to.


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