Fearless Power

My family went on our summer vacation a few weeks back to Biloxi. This was the first trip with my fiance' and my niece so it was very exciting. I came back joking about how I almost drowned in the Ocean after getting thrown off of a jet ski. Recently, I have been mulling over the verse "God has not given us the spirit of fear, but He has given us power!"I tied that verse this week in to my experience out there in the water. Anyone that knows me knows that I am scared of large bodies of water and heights but in the last two years my family has managed to get me to fly in an airplane and most recently adventure out on a jet ski in water that I could not touch the bottom with my feet. Now initially I was not going to go. My fiance had even expressed his concern with me going. But I was in a "live a little" mood so I said ok I will give it a try. I talked myself through it because my son is a deep water certified life guard and I can swim. I knew he would take it easy with me because he knew I was scared and if I was going to trust anyone it was going to be him to rescue me. So I watch my sister and daughter ride a bit, and initially my son and nephew on the water. They were all doing ok. So now it was my turn. I get on and Caleb(my son) tells me to lock my hands around his waist. We are flowing through pretty easy. I am nervous but calm. We made our first lap and it was all ok. We made round two casually chatting and when we went to turn we got thrown off of the jet ski. I went under water and felt nothing. I had enough sense to swim up but once I got my head above water I was terrified of all of the things that could go wrong. My son was reaching for me telling me to trust him and grab his hand. I wouldn't do that because I was terrified he couldn't pull me and all I kept thinking was he is just a kid. Then he started to try to coach me and remind me that I can swim and I started crying because I didn't trust my swimming either. I tried to pull up onto the jet ski and it kept dipping into the water so I was afraid it would flip over. At this point Caleb is really frustrated that I didn't trust him enough to at least reach out to him. I froze holding on to the back of the jet ski screaming DON'T LET ME DIE!!! Finally, one of the workers in the ski place came and asked did we need help, and I said yes. Caleb began to tell him that he can help me I am just panicking. Eventually, they got me back on and I made a b-line for the shore! Today I was reflecting on that day and how I let fear take my power away. I could swim...I had a trained life guard there...and I had on a life jacket, but I was so afraid I didn't use any of the tools I had. WOW!!! Isn't that how the devil tricks us with fear??? We have the power of the Holy Spirit and a direct line to God through Jesus and we will let our own fears make us NOT utilize our power! Caleb is a good example of Jesus reaching out to us saying take my hand I have the skills and tools you need but instead of taking His hand we stay in that deep water stagnant and frozen in our situation. The part I left out was when they guy came to help he could stand in the water. So even though it was deeper than my height I have swam in water way deeper before with no problem but by this time I was frantic with what? FEAR! How many times has God brought us through something and then the very next thing that happens we panic and forget that if He could deliver us out of far worse situations then He definitely can handle the simplest of them. What the devil does though is whisper that fear in and convinces you that all things are hopeless and you are powerless. He is an eloquent liar and unfortunately we often fall for it. After it was all said and done my son just shook his head at me and I had to even laugh at myself because I had behaved badly but I learned a great lesson of why that verse is so important and more than just a cliche we use. The power that God gives us exceeds any issue or problem we may have if we use it. Don't forget about your power and most definitely don't forget to use them even when you may be afraid.