Fear of Flying

Hopes high, dreams large, sights set and ready to go, we're ready to soar. We have dreams, visions, goals. Our hearts have desires, for bigger and better things. Whether we desire to go into a certain vocation or we desire for a better relationship with our Daddy, they're all dreams.

So often though, we let our fear of flying interfere with our dreams. We're afraid that God isn't on our side, that He'll shoot us out of the sky, that our dreams are foolish. But what if those desires were God-inspired? Our fears and our concerns would then get in the way of God's plan. How, then, do we deal with those insecurities?

Two years ago, I had a severe case of scoliosis. That's a fancy word for a strangely curved back. Basically, the part of my spine that was supposed to look straight was curved like an "S". I remember feeling so helpless as I heard about all the things the doctors were talking about doing to fix my back. Surgery, a brace, chiropractic help. The seeds of fear were sown into my life already. Because of my back problem, I suffered numerous headaches, and occasionally back pain. It was not fun. Sitting on my bed one night, my daddy went to pray for healing for my back, and I stopped him and said words I'll never forget nor repeat. "Daddy, what if God wants me to have scoliosis?"

I was terrified to believe God for healing and get let down. I was afraid that I'd be shot out of the sky, that God would laugh at my pathetic attempts to achieve the dream that I had at the time. That dream was healing. I had a fear of flying.

In October, 2009, I was healed of my scoliosis completely and totally. I decided that I wouldn't let my fear tie me down. God gave us dreams for a reason. He gave you the desire to speak to a multitude because He wants you to be a powerful public speaker. He gave you the dreams of starting orphanages in Nigeria because He wants you to impact lives in Nigeria. He planted the vision in your heart of whatever He may have called you to do for a reason. He wants you to shoot for the stars, don't be afraid to fly.

When we draw near to God, He draws near to us. His DNA becomes our DNA, His desires become our desires, His plans for our lives our put into motion in our lives. God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, and when our hearts look like His because of the time we've spent drawing near to Him, then the plans He has in place are acted out and our dreams, our God-breathed dreams, come to pass. He doesn't want to shoot us out of the sky. He wants us to soar high above the storm.

God wanted me healed. He desired for me to be whole. He didn't like seeing His daughter in pain, hurting not just physically but mentally. He planted the want to be complete and whole in my heart because that IS what He wanted for me. If I had been afraid to put that into action, if I hadn't spread my wings in faith and jumped off the proverbial cliff, I would have never come out with a wonderful testimony of God's healing powers.
With every dream comes a wonderful testimony in the end. Never let your fear stop you from pursuing that dream. Seek God, draw near to Him, let His heart become your heart, may your DNA be like His own, and let your dreams go. Don't let your fear of flying stand in the way. Take that fear captive.

Inside all of us is the potential to achieve amazing things, through Christ who strengthens us. Let's go for it. Let's fly. Let's pursue our dreams.

Choosing to fly,
Daddy's Girl