Adventure Awaits
Eleanor Roosevelt (I love her!) said, "Do one thing everyday that scares you." When I first read that quote I didn't immediately feel inspired as you would expect one to feel. That's because lately I've had the opportunity to do quite a few things that really scare me and I have to say, in all truthfulness, it feels more like a back and forth mind and body battle than it does an awe-inspiring victory over fear and it doesn't seem to get easier. I know, you're so encouraged in this post so far, right? I promise it gets better. Keep reading.
My husband, Robert, and I just got back from a trip to Kauai for vacation. We got to do some pretty amazing and breath-taking things there. However, on our second day we planned to do a helicopter tour. Now you might assume (?), I'm not a fan of flying. I don't like to fly in commercial jet-planes let alone a small helicopter on a very windy island in the middle of the pacific ocean. So, needless to say, this was the one thing to do that day that was definitely going to scare me (thanks, Eleanor!). I woke up early that morning and started my day with some good coffee and some good conversation with my Dad (God). I let Him know how scared I was of this days activity. I ran through the gamut of possible negative turn outs and then finally, I calmed myself down and let Him speak to me. He said, "I made you for adventure. I made you to experience my creation. I made everything you see around you FOR you so I'm not going to let anything happen to you. This is what I made you for." And then he brought to my mind Galations 5:1 which says, "It is for freedom Christ set us free." He paid the price for our freedom from fear. We are completely free from fear because He sent His son to die for our freedom. When He spoke that to me it shifted my attitude towards the day and, inevitably, towards every scary thing, no matter what it is, that I would ever face going forward.
God designed us for adventure. The actual definition of adventure is to engage in risky and exciting activity, especially the exploration of unknown territory. Our God created what is now known (earth, stars, moon, galaxies, etc.) from unknown territory. He is the greatest adventure'er there is. Also, because of Him, as believers, we defy the natural laws of this planet by operating in the supernatural with things like healing, words of knowledge and raising people from the dead (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). Jesus Christ, the son of God, did all these things and He said we would do even greater things than He did (John 14:12).
I've never really thought of God as an adventurer. I've always thought of Him as my safe place and He still is, of course, but He's also my exciting adventure partner. He loves to watch me take risks and leaps of faith. He loves it when I trust Him even when the situation does have potential scary turn outs. I mean, I'm not saying go randomly jump off a cliff for adventure unless, of course, you're wearing a bungee cord :) but what I am saying is we can do scary things, without fear, because He made us to live adventurously. We were designed to push forward into the unknown and we can do so because He loves us, he mades us to experience all the good things this life has to offer (even if they're scary) and He's never going to fail us. What's your scary thing for today?
