Fearless Faith
This summer we put our daughter in swim lessons. She already loved the water but we wanted her to learn a few safety skills. Even with only a few lessons Charlie showed no fear around the water. I can set her on the side of the pool and she readily “jumps” into the water with a huge smile on her face. Sometimes she takes in a little water and it startles her for a moment, but she will go right back to jump in again. She loves it! And she has complete and total trust in the person she is jumping to.
One of the times we were at the pool I was playing with Charlie, letting her jump to me, while talking to some other adults. I set Charlie on the steps so she could climb around and I turned my head to talk. Charlie jumped off the step towards me while I was turned away. Now, I did catch her because I was so close, but she didn’t know that I wasn’t ready for her. She’s like that with a lot of things. Climbing over everything. Trying to run when she can barely walk. She does everything with the belief that someone is going to catch her.
When I became a mom I thought about all of the things I was going to be able to teach my daughter. How to read. How to sing. How to swim. The usual things. But it never occurred to me how much she would teach me. Charlie is fearless because she has faith in the people who love her.
“(2)And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them (3) and said, “Truly, I say to you unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (4) Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18: 2-4
What would life be like if we were completely fearless because of our faith?
In 2020, just before COVID took over our world, my husband and I purchased a piece of land and planned to build our first home. We knew exactly what we wanted and had an idea of what our general budget was going to be. But as you know everything changed that year and our plans were put on hold. It has taken four years for our dream to become a reality again. However our reality is vastly different than what we pictured back then. And I’m now having to wrap my head around a new plan, which also means a new budget. A drastically different budget.
Money is a scary thing especially for someone who knows what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck. The times we are in only make things even more frightening. While I feel completely justified in my worry, it also makes me feel guilty. I shouldn’t be worried because my life is not my own.
God tells us in Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything” (4:6). Anything implies an unlimited range of possibilities. He directly tells us that we have absolutely nothing to worry about. Yet I feel fear nonetheless.
But what if I lived my life like my sweet Charlie?
As her mom, I’ve created an environment where she knows I am always there for her. Someone is always there to catch her. When she’s hurt I’m right there to offer comfort. Because of this she doesn’t live her life in fear. God created that same environment for me. He didn’t promise that everything would be perfect, but he did instruct us in Isaiah 41:10 not to fear, not to be dismayed.
I want to live a life of fearless faith. I want to jump into the water knowing my God is going to catch me. I want to keep going even when I can barely take another step knowing my God will comfort me if I fall.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with-you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
