Paralyzed by the Unknown

Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light? 

~ Maurice Freehill 

I recall as a child, I would go on vacation with my family and see many people enjoying themselves in the pool or in the water at the beach. I wanted to join in the fun but I was paralyzed by fear. I had grown up hearing of a family friend who became paralyzed after diving into a shallow area and it frightened me to death. Not once did I evaluate the others who had successful swimming stories, but I was overcome by this one particular outcome.

This seems to be a common theme in today's society. Many of us fall prey to partial information that seems to be enough to halt us from moving. We hear of one or two tragic stories about a plane crash and then we develop a phobia about flying. Forget about the fact that we know of tons of persons who have very safe flying experiences all the time. On the contrary, we have become paralyzed by these one or two incidents. A few facts:

• A US National Safety Council study showed flying to be 22 times safer than travelling by car 
• 21,000 people (on average) die on the road in the US in a 6-month period. This is approximately the same amount of all commercial air travel fatalities WORLDWIDE in 40 years 
• More than 3million people fly EVERY DAY. 
• A Boeing aircraft takes off or lands every 2 seconds somewhere in the world – all day, every day! 

So you have a higher probability to die prematurely on the ground, yet you still are victimized by a flying horror story.

The fact of the matter is that we often function in the same manner as the lame man mentioning in the 5th chapter of John, at the pool of Bethesda. He heard what everyone else was saying and remained paralyzed based upon "their word" and "their experience". The sad reality was that after all those years that he sat waiting for a remedy from the pool, his healing was immediate when he heard something different. He didn't explore other options to see if the pool was the best option (at least we are not told that). Instead, he followed the majority and was no better off. It was only when the "unknown" came and offered a better option that his entire life changed for the better.

Tell me, what's worse?

• Blindly following others who exhibit no progress 
• Having access to a solution to your problems, but ignore it 

Until we can investigate for ourselves whether or not a solution is the best way, there is no reason to back away from the unknown.  How do you know the outcome?  What proof do you have it won't work for you? There is no guarantee that you will  have the same negative result as someone else.  Take a my flying example ... after 30+ years, I'm now at the point where I'm no longer afraid "to try" to learn how to swim. I realize now that the worse thing that could happen is that I could have a new way of exercising and a pleasurable experience. Why should I not even try something that could benefit me in so many ways? I must check it out for myself and not just assume I will also have a negative experience.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 

(2 Timothy 1:7, KJV)

This spirit of fear is determined to keep you in such a state of terror that you forget all the success stories and remain paralyzed by the 1 or 2 failures. I've come to the point in my life where I think it's foolish to watch others at least try their best and make progressive steps. I'm in a state of rehabilitation where I'm learning how to move based on what I know, not what I've never bothered to explore. Once I begin to move, I realize that it wasn't as bad as it was made out to be (at least that's how I see it). Just like the family friend who was once unable to move, he now is mobile and doesn't allow it to prohibit him from living the best life he can.

Don't let your minimal knowledge cause you to remain paralyzed in any situation. God has all knowledge, so once we get in tune with the master, then we can move with certainty towards our destiny.  If you trust in God's plan for your life, there will be no room for fear.