Don’t Look Down

When I was twelve, I went to a summer camp up in Whittier.

I was so excited to have my first camping experience. I met so many new people and did things I had never done before, one of which was rock climbing up this huge wall. At the time, I was extremely fearful of heights, but my camp counselor encouraged me to overcome my fears and “do it anyway.” In fact, our camp counselor went first and waited at the top for us. The climb started off fairly easy and I was moving on up the wall.

Once I got to the half-way point, my arms were becoming fatigued and I did the one thing I shouldn’t have; I looked down! I started to freak out. I yelled down to the man holding my ropes and said “I want to come down! I’m scared.” But, my camp counselor didn’t let me give up. I’ll never forget what she said to me in that moment: “Look up, you got this!” So, I took a deep breath, looked up, and started to climb again, getting closer and closer to the top. I made it! I was so scared but did it anyway.

Family, fear will try to cripple you. It will try to take you off course and push you out of alignment with the Father. If you are listening to this and thinking, “That’s me; that’s exactly what I’m going through,” I want to say to you what my camp counselor said to me: “Do it anyway.”

If you’re feeling the weight of fear, God is right there saying, “Look up, you got this!”

Psalm 46:1 says,

God, you’re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge! You’re a proven help in times of trouble— more than enough and always available whenever I need you.

God is your refuge! There is no other name like the name of Jesus. No other name that holds the same amount of power. He is the only One who has edifice qualities. We can literally run to Him. We can look up at Him and know that there is nothing we can’t overcome.

Right here and now, I want you to stop for a moment and just take in that the God of the Bible is the same God present in your situation.

Lord, I pray for every person reading this, and I ask that you silence the overwhelm and replace it with peace. We know that You hold everything in Your hands, and if You are mindful of all creation, You are also mindful of us.

So Lord, we surrender everything that has a hold on us and ask that You help us to keep our eyes on you. Amen

Som Tami

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