Paralyzed By Fear

The LORD is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?

Psalm 27:1

One of our family’s best friends, Skip Wilkins, was paralyzed in a waterskiing accident just after graduating from high school. A gifted athlete, he had been offered many college football scholarships, which could never be realized. He would never walk again, but Skip remained extremely active. Once when Skip and his sweet wife, Daphne, visited our home, I asked him to walk over and look at something. He said in his charming way, “Kim, I can’t walk. Remember?” (God gave Skip such a wonderful perspective on life and a great sense of humor. Now he is walking on the streets of gold.)

Although I have the use of my legs, I faced many situations in my childhood and early adulthood when I was literally paralyzed by fear. At times I have been so immobilized by the fear of failure and what others think of me that I have been unable to walk by faith. I could not take the next step to follow through, make the phone call, or complete a responsibility.

People who know me now cannot believe that I walked off the stage at a piano recital without playing a note, or called the church’s choir director days before the Christmas pageant and said, “I cannot sing Mary’s part,” or burst into tears before giving a speech to only fifteen people in my senior year of college!

The Lord changed me when I gave Him my whole heart and told Him I did not want to miss anything He had for me. Being available to Him required faith. He does not want us to be afraid. He promises to be our light and salvation, a stronghold we can count on.

When I think back to how fear used to control me, I have a hard time believing that in 2005 I shared the Good News in front of 7,250 people at a Sweet Monday Guinness World Record event—the world’s largest tea party! God does amazing miracles when we give our hearts fully to Him.

Life is not a tea party, but we can encourage each other to fight fear with faith! Pray Psalm 27:1 until you feel the Lord’s peace work through your fear.