For years I struggled with a fear of heights. I can remember a visit to the Empire State Building as a young woman and being terrified to go near the windows. I even had nightmares as a child about being driven in a car off a high bridge into a river.

It seems I am not alone. According to a recent study, fear of heights and fear of flying are both in the top five fears along with fear of public speaking, which was also a real problem for me as a young adult.

Top 10 Common Fears

01. Fear of flying
02. Fear of public speaking
03. Fear of heights
04. Fear of the dark
05. Fear of intimacy
06. Fear of death
07. Fear of failure
08. Fear of rejection
09. Fear of spiders
10. Fear of commitment

Recognizing that a fear of flying was a serious handicap in our modern world, I asked the Lord for help, and we worked through that fear years ago when I climbed on a plane and flew to Seoul, Korea, where my husband Gerry was stationed at the time.  The fear of heights, however, has been harder to conquer; but on our family vacation to Breckenridge, Colorado, a few weeks ago, I had a real opportunity to deal with this fear once again.

I knew at the outset of our family vacation that I, along with several  other members of our family, would have opportunities to face some of our fears. My grandson, Jonathon, for example, was afraid of heights and of flying. He had missed a previous trip because of the fear of flying.  Also on the trip were my two granddaughters, Kaitlyn and Lauren, and Lauren’s boyfriend Nick along with my three sons and their wives. All four of the teenagers/young adults confessed before the trip that they, too, were afraid. To their credit, though, they all got on the plane, and we made it safely to Breckenridge.

In preparation for our trip, I selected a Bible study for us to share during our family devotions time. We always spend part of our time on vacation wrestling with some theological or moral issue. This year the Lord directed me to Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World by Craig Groeschel. Though I had never heard of the book or the author, I was mysteriously drawn to it; and it turned out to be an excellent study.

In his book, Groeschel discusses how we are being corrupted by the world through lethal language, radioactive relationships, false beliefs, cultural toxins, and–fear!

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday, our focus turned to Chapter 2 Unlocking the Chokehold of Fear. As a part of the discussion, I shared that a former colleague of mine, Jim Gentry, used to quote Dale Carnegie when we would co- teach leadership classes.

“Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.” —Dale Carnegie

 Jim would say that the only way to conquer fear is to do what you are afraid of. He was right. Until we learn that we really can do what we fear, the fear will keep us in bondage and perhaps prevent us from living the abundant life the Lord has in mind for us

With our discussion of fear behind us, we headed out on Thursday to the Royal Gorge Bridge to apply what we had studied.  Famous as the highest suspension bridge in the United States and among the top 10 highest bridges in the world, the Royal Gorge Bridge attraction also includes the Cloudscraper Zip line, the Royal Rush Skycoaster, and the Aerial Gondolas—all over 1000 feet in the air above the Arkansas River!

Now you may be thinking you don’t have to zipline across the Royal Gorge to overcome your fears, and that’s true. The Lord, though, puts challenges in our paths, and until we overcome them, we may be unable to do what He wants us to do. I love the Nike slogan “Just Do It”—and we did!

We walked across the bridge, and we rode the Aerial Gondolas. Lauren, Nick, Kaitlyn and her dad Jon along with son Joe and his wife Heather all ziplined; and Lauren and her dad Jeff, Jon and Joe all rode the Skycoaster! Whew! Scary, exhilarating, perhaps not the first thing one does when dealing with a fear of heights, but they did it—and we have pictures and t-shirts to prove it! I was very proud of my fellow adventurers. I knew it took God and guts to “just do it!”

Two of my favorite Bible verses on the subject of fear are 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT): “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline,” and Psalm 34:4 (NLT): “I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.”

What about you? Is fear paralyzing you? If so, What are you afraid of? Give it to the Lord completely, and He will help you overcome it.

On the other hand, have you overcome your fears? If so, would you like to share your experience, strength, and hope? I’d love to hear from you.

“Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

P.S. As I mentioned, I had a serious fear of public speaking as a young adult. It was so bad that I fled my senior English class in tears because my voice quivered when I tried to speak. Then the Lord called me to teach. I obviously couldn’t enter that occupation without speaking. Through his grace, power, and goodness, I was able to overcome my fears and have spent most of my life teaching, speaking, and even preaching! The Lord has a wonderful sense of humor! Just ask Moses. He was afraid to speak, too, yet through the Lord’s power he rescued the children of Israel from Egypt. We serve an awesome God! Psalm 34:4