FEAR'S EDGES

FEAR’S EDGES

My goodness…time really does fly, or so it seems.  We are now in the last two months of 2017!  This season of the year reminds me of our varsity football experiences.  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 will we do to assure that we are operating at peak performance in the latter half of the game?’

In the waning moments of this year, it is imperative that we approach every day and task with courage and consistency.  We must refuse to live in the shadow of FEAR, which is a highly adept and lethal assassin of 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 are somewhat short in stature.  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 roughly 300 feet away, with the open space of the sandy beach standing between the sea and their home turf.

Suddenly, a group of penguins takes off, waddling as fast as their little legs can carry them across the beach.  But then, having traveled only 25 feet or so, they turn around and then waddle back toward the water.  They wait, then try again.  As one group finally makes it, another performs this strange ritual of turning heading homeward and turning back.  On it goes until eventually all the penguins cross the beach and meet up with their hungry 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.  Therefore, at sea, they are safe from predators such as eagles and hawks.  Within their burrows, they are similarly safe since they are below ground.  But out on the open beach, they are quite vulnerable, completely exposed.  On the beach, they can only waddle slowly and are easy pickings for predators.  And so, as they cross over the beach sands, the moment that they see a shadow of anything, they turn back and race for the safety of the water.

Undoubtedly, we humans are a lot like 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 we’ve got to cross the ‘beach’ and head toward our ‘home’ – but the journey seems somehow daunting and terrifying.  You see, as we step out of the water and waddle across the beach, we leave our safety and comfort zone behind.  We find ourselves in ‘no-man’s land’ where it feels rather uncertain, dangerous and disconcerting. However, to arrive home, we must abandon our safety zone and strike out into THE FAITH ZONE, that dynamic intersection of human risk and divine reward.

My friend, it’s called LIFE.  Prayerfully consider this thought provoking question for the remaining days of 2017:  'Are you up to the challenge of abandoning your anxieties and fears to experience the power and potential of what lies ahead?'  It is my prayer that you will have a most fulfilling and fruitful remainder of this year.  No fear.  No hesitancy.  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!