Have you ever been there? A place/time where you can remember being frozen, unable to do or act because you were intimidated by fear? Fear of what would happen. Fear of what would people think. Fear of what if it wasn’t the right choice. Fear of living in fear.

Fear is probably one of the most intimidating things that exist in all of our lives. We constantly struggle with what might happen. I know in my mind I like to think that I am fearless, ready for the next turn in the road, what lies ahead, bring it on! But the realty is, I am fearful and afraid. Afraid of relationships, “what if I am betrayed again?” Afraid of parenting, “What if my kids don’t turn out ok?” Afraid of friends, “What if all they do is always take from me?” Afraid of work, “What if I loose my job?” What if, what if, what if! “What if” is a bully!

I really only have one good bully experience in my life, and that was one of Johnny. I may have told it before, but here it is again. Most of my elementary years I had a childhood crush on Michelle! Of course the crush was not returned, but I kept after it. By the time we were in the 8th grade, Michelle had become boyfriends with Johnny and she and I were “just friends”. So of course, I saw Johnny  every day. Johnny had a tendency to punch me in the arm every time he saw me, kind of making sure I understood he was king. And it hurt! I came to fear seeing him each day.

One day, however, I finally had it. I could not take it anymore, so I called him out! Now anyone with a knowledge of my size then and Johnny’s would think I just ordered a big serving of beat down, and I probably did. But I had reached the point of not wanting to live like that anymore. Tired of his control of putting me in fear. So we squared off and wham, right to the nose! He socked me good. And….that was all of the fight.

Now it would have been a great story to tell you I whipped him and got the girl and was king, but the realty was, he whipped me,  and in addition the principle paddled me for fighting and I was the butt of a lot of jokes for awhile. But strangely, Johnny never hit me again. In fact he defended me on several occasions. Later that week, the High School football coach encouraged me to come out for football, “I need guys who aren’t afraid to tear into guys bigger than them”.  And I learned a big lesson.

Intimidation wants you paralyzed. It wants you to do nothing! Wait! Wait! Wait! Today I want to encourage anyone who reads this (including myself), don’t be paralyzed! Don’t hesitate! You know their are some things that are no brainers! One of my personal philosophies is that when it comes to decision making, it is better to make a decision than to hold in indecisiveness. You see, if you make a decision and it turns out to be bad, you can alter course and you now have the advantage because you now know which choice is right.  So whip around and get going on the right choice. Don’t keep down a path you know is wrong. Don’t be foolish on top of everything else.

Now that philosophy is good for most things, not all (marriage and children).

So today, don’t be intimidated by fear. Get up, move forward, see what’s around the corner. As a friend once said, only two things are certain, Death and taxes, and they both will get paid when the time comes.

“And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?”  (Luke 12:22-26, ESV)

“So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).