Does Fear Have a Finger on You?

I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4

The summer of 1980, Fish might have been a more appropriate name for me than Shannon. In fact, my family of origin calls my Shanny, which happens to be a type of fish so perhaps I was destined for the water. 

Me at 10 -
Please take note of my
super foxy Dr. Seuss suit!

Long days were spent at my town's public swimming pool. I thought my mom was the coolest because we had a membership, a snack bar account and she would drop me off unsupervised. I could swim, tan and chat with friends for as many hours as I wanted. To my ten year old brain, I'd landed in heaven. 


One ordinary afternoon as I plunged to the bottom of the pool, my jaw locked in the mouth open position. A tsunami of terror flooded my water logged heart. Putting my face in the water lost much of its allure that day.


Fish became a Fraidy Cat.


A year in high school of the oh-so-attractive head gear corrected my jaw alignment. I still didn't put my face in the water.


In college, I was placed in the lowest swimming group. I still didn't put my face in the water.


Just last Sunday I swam laps for an hour in our community pool. I used the back stroke and side stroke exclusively so I didn't have to put my face in the water.


No fear remains in my heart but I have allowed fear's fingers to shape my behavior.


Does fear have a finger on you?


It's possible to overcome a fear of commitment and yet remain non-committal.


It's feasible to conquer a fear of abandonment and still tend toward isolation.


It's likely to beat a fear of the unknown and continue to avoid new places and people.


Fear can finger us long after we think we've grown beyond its' reach. Next Sunday I'll return to our community pool for another hour's swim. I've already decided to live beyond fear's reach. I will rely on Him as I swim. In His strength I will swim with my face in the water. I will swim because as I pass through the water, He will be with me. (Isaiah 43:2)


Does fear have a finger on you? How could His hand free you from fear's finger?