FEAR'S EDGES

FEAR’S EDGES

Believe it or not, on today we find ourselves at the start of the second half of 2016.  Time really does fly, or so it seems.  In our days of varsity football, the late Coach Joe Gladys would give us Greyhounds a challenging pep talk before we re-entered the gridiron to commence the second half of competition.  While his talks were always different (based largely upon the scoreboard status), they contained one common theme.  ‘What are we going to do to assure that we are operating at peak performance in the second half of this game?’

As we move into the latter half of 2016, it is imperative that we approach each day and every task with courage and consistency.  We must refuse to live in the shadow of FEAR, which is a highly adept and lethal assassin of our dreams and potential.  Consider the following story, courtesy of Scott Higgins.

Philip Island, in Victoria Australia, plays host to one of the greatest nature experiences possible.  On the shores of Philip Island are the burrows of thousands upon thousands of fairy penguins, extraordinarily cute little birds that stand only 30 centimeters or so tall.  Every morning the adult penguins head out to sea to catch fish.  At the end of the day, they return to land to bring back food for their chicks.  Watching them moving from the water to their burrows is both funny and fascinating.  The penguins surf in on the waves, then gather in groups at the water’s edge.  Their burrows are 100 meters or so distant, with the open space of the sandy beach standing between them and home.

All of a sudden a group of penguins takes off, waddling as fast as their little legs can carry them across the beach.  But then, having traveled only 10 or 15 meters, they suddenly turn around and waddle back toward the water.  They wait, then try again.  One group finally makes it, but another performs this strange ritual of turning back.  And on it goes until eventually all the penguins have crossed the beach and met up with their chicks in the burrows.

What’s really going on here?  Why this strange stop-start-and-return ritual?  The answer is quite simple.  At sea, the birds are fast swimmers and able to dive deep.  So at sea, they are safe from predators such as eagles and hawks.  And in their burrows, they are safe because they are below ground.  But out on the open beach, they are very vulnerable, completely exposed.  On the beach, they can only waddle slowly and thus they are easy pickings for predators.  And so, as they cross over the beach sands, the moment that they see a shadow or anything out of the corner of their eyes, they turn back and race for the safety of the water.

It seems that we humans are a lot like those fairy penguins. When confronted with challenging situations, we find ourselves standing uncertainly at the water’s edge. We know where we’ve got to go. We know that we’ve got to cross that beach and head back toward our home burrow, but it all seems so daunting, so terrifying. You see, whenever we step out of the water and start waddling across the beach, we leave our safety and comfort zone behind. There we find ourselves in ‘no-man’s land’ where it feels uncertain, dangerous and downright disconcerting. However, in order to get home we must leave the safety zone and strike out into THE FAITH ZONE where we encounter both risk and reward.

My friend, it’s called LIFE.  Here’s your question for the remainder of 2016.  Are you up to the challenge of abandoning your anxiety and fear in order to experience the power and embrace the potential of what lies ahead?  Have a fulfilling and fruitful second half.  No fears.  Only faith.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!