James 4:7-8 ( KJV ) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
One of the guys I used to date had an old panel van that rattled noisily as it rolled down the road. He’d pick me up early in the afternoon and we’d drive to the beach. The bridge we had to cross had a large hump for passing boats that went up at a rather steep angle, and from inside the old van, the road was lost to view for a few seconds before it appeared again on the downward slope. It made me a nervous every time we went up because I felt as though we‘d drive right into the water. My date thought it was great fun and loved to tease me about it.
Several years later, my husband(different guy) and I bought a place outside town. It was a lovely place and we took joy and pride into making a home there for ourselves and our two children. Gradually, I began to notice I was uncomfortable crossing the bridge from town. This was a problem because we lived on the other side of the bay. I had my choice of two bridges, but I had to cross one of them in order to get to and from town where both of our parents lived.
At first, I shook off the uncomfortable feeling and drove on, not thinking about it again until the next time I drove over the bridge. I had never experienced anything like this before, so I continued in denial until one day I really panicked with my two small children in the rear seat. As I approached the hump, with a much more gradual rise than the one from my dating days, I began to hyperventilate, my heart rate spiked, and my vision began to fade. I was terrified I was going to pass out right here on that busy Interstate bridge. I slowed way down and concentrated on staying conscious and keeping the car on the road. When I got to the other side, I pulled off into a rest area and waited for my breathing to return to normal. I looked at my children sleeping peacefully in the back seat and finally admitted I had a problem. I had a full blown phobia and I didn’t have a clue what to do about it.
I didn’t tell my husband, not at first, because I was ashamed. How could I be afraid of bridges? It made to sense to me and it seemed silly. I consider myself a practical person and this kind of irrational fear was humiliating.
I realized, of course, that I could go to a doctor about this, but, as a believer, I went to my Heavenly Father instead. It was only after I began praying that I remembered the bridge I was so nervous about crossing from my dating days. I had not thought about that bridge in a long time and only then did I see the how one affected the other. Knowing why I was afraid helped me understand myself, but it didn’t solve the problem.
My choices were few, I could avoid bridges for the rest of my life and live a restricted, crippled life, or, I could do something about the fear and return to a normal, free life. I didn’t want to be bound by fear, so I asked God to show me what to do. I read James 4, verses 7 -8, and I knelt before God and submitted myself again to him, thanking him that all my sins and shortcomings were covered by, and paid in full by, the blood of Jesus. Then, I took God at his word and determined to resist the devil, or in this case, the fear, believing God’s word to be true, that it would flee from me.
The next time I approached the bridge, my breathing and my heart rate picked up. I knew, once I was on the bridge, there would be no turning back. I’d have to cross.
“I resist you, fear. I resist you, fear,” I said to myself over and over as I drove across.
It was a difficult crossing, but I made it without full-out panic setting in. I claimed that as a victory and determined to beat this fear back.
The next time I approached the bridge, I tried a different tactic. In my mind, I saw a large rubber stamp. I saw myself raise the stamp and slam it down on a paper that represented the fear of crossing the bridge. In bright red lettering I saw the word “Rejected” stamped across the paper. As soon as I did this, I felt great peace. I mentally raised and slammed that stamp down over and over as I crossed the bridge with no problem. I had to do this a few more times before I could cross that, bridge without dreading fear or panic setting in, but sooner than I would have believed possible, I was driving across without concern or even thinking of the fear that almost had me avoiding bridges for the rest of my life. Today, I continue to drive across bridges without concern.
Although I never had another problem crossing bridges, I have faced other fears and situations in which I panicked. I notice these situations come on me when I’m not expecting them. I am thrust into the middle of a situation and the panic is rising before I know it is coming. It is hard to remember to stop and pull myself back from the panic, but when I do, God’s word is true, the fear leaves.
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Scriptures that talk about...
Phobias and Fears
by
Kay Montgomery
Consecration:
Spritual Warefare:
Relationships:
Forgiveness:
Obedience:
Divine Guidance:
Faith:
Healing:
Prayer:
Sin/Repentance:
Follow along with me as I attempt to lose weight and hopefully learn spiritual lessons on my weight loss journey.
Not Bridges but Car Washes
I have to admit, with embarrassment, as I write this I realize I have allowed an area of my life to be controlled by panic and fear. It began when I drove through a car wash. Yes, a car wash. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad-OK, it is funny.
Here’s the story, when the soapy sponges began swishing over the car, panic rose in me and I felt closed in, claustrophobic. I lowered the windows, stuck out my head, and yelled for help. Yes, I really did this. One of the workers stood a few feet back on the outside and looked in at me incredulously. I wish I had a video of this, it would be a hit on u-tube. Anyway, the cold, soapy sponges hit me in the face, splashing soap and water all over me and the inside of my car. It woke me up, the panic left, and I tried to raise the windows, but the soapy sponges were in the way. I rode through the car wash with the windows open.
I thought this story too good to keep to myself, I told my family about it and we all had a good laugh. My loving family has ever since taken my car to the car wash for me. It has been too easy to let them do it. In the meantime, the fear of car washes continues to hold me captive. Now that I am aware of this, I will put this fear in it’s place, I will resist until it flees from me. I will pull out my big rubber stamp, my red inkpad, and take my car through the car wash.
God help me…..
