What’s holding you back from doing what you really want to do?
Monday night was our last swim meet for our kids. Swim team has been great for all three of our kids this summer. Will, our oldest son, has really grown & improved these last two summers in the pool. But Monday night he almost hit a wall. His swim coach had put him down to swim butterfly. It would be his last event of the night. And he was worried.
He had missed the previous week of practice because he was on a trip with me. I’m not even sure the last time he got to practice the butterfly. It’s not the easiest stroke & in his words – he wasn’t very good at it. All night long we were having conversations back & forth about whether he should do it or not.
Finally, it was time. At this point it’s after 9PM. So it’s getting late & it’s way past his bed time. He’s almost emotional about it. So I pulled him off to the side & I asked him, “Ok, tell me why you don’t want to do it.” Here’s what he said… “It’s hard, I’m tired & I’m afraid.”
Ever felt this way before? There’s something in front of you that you really want to do. But it’s hard, you’re tired & you’re a little afraid.
3 Reasons Not To Do It:
1. It’s hard.
Most of the time the things we really want will take some hard work to get, to achieve, to accomplish. There’s not much that’s worthy of having that doesn’t come as a result of hard work.
2. I’m tired.
Many times we’re too exhausted to muster up the energy to go for it. We’re worn out from our innumerable responsibilities, from the stress & pressure put on us, from the expectations of those around us, from the effort it takes to meet the demands upon us. Just to keep doing what we’re doing takes an incredible amount of energy. To do something new seems impossible sometimes simply because we don’t have the internal resources to do it.
3. I’m afriad.
And then there’s fear. Fear is always with us. There’s always an element of fear with anything we want to do of any significance. This summer at BigStuf we got to hear Pete Wilson speak about being afraid. I love what he says about fear…
“The only way to live a life with no fear is to live a life of mediocrity. Fear & growth are a package deal. We think the more spiritually maturity we have, the more clarity we have. The truth is the more spiritually mature we become, the less clarity we need because we trust God.” – Pete Wilson
[Tweet “The only way to live a life with no fear is to live a life of mediocrity. @pwilson”]Here’s the good news…
That night Will jumped into the water & did the butterfly from one end of the pool to the other! We talked it over beforehand. I reminded him that yea, it may be hard. But we are never afraid of hard work! And you may be tired, but let’s not let that be an excuse to keep you from doing something great. Something you’ll never regret. And then there’s the big one. Fear. We often struggle with fear & anxiety. But we know & we trust that God is always with us. Because of that simple but profound fact we have NOTHING to fear. Even if we fail, even if we fall, He’ll catch us.
And here’s more good news…
You too can fly! You may or may not have any great desire to do the butterfly today. But whatever it is you want to do, whatever it is that is in front of you, you can do it. God is with you. You have nothing to fear.
