A friend of mine decided he would go sky-diving on his 21st birthday.  He made his reservation and paid his money.  When his birthday came, he boarded the plane to make the amazing jump.  However, he did not make the jump that day or any day thereafter.  When it came time to jump fear overtook him.  I suppose he decided that it was not cool to have nothing between his body and the earth. The odds that the parachute would work was in his favor.  However, it was the small chance that the parachute would not open kept my friend on the plane.  Needless to say, my friend was paralyzed by fear.  

Fear is a four letter word that at some point has paralyzed all of us.  I will be the first to admit that fear has kept me from doing extraordinary things.  

I jokingly asked a friend of mine if she thought I was a reserved person.  I knew the answer to the question before I even asked.  Yes, I am a very reserved person.  My fear of failure has kept me from trying new things.  It has kept me from creativity I know I have.  Fear has kept me from standing up for what I believe in or addressing conflict I know needs addressing.  In some ways, fear has even hindered my ministry.  I'm so afraid of screwing up that I don't even try.  In my fear I have failed because I HAVE NOT tried.  

I know I am not alone in my fear.  I know that most people would say that one point or another they have been paralyzed by fear.  I want to live a life with few regrets as possible.  I don't want to regret the things I haven't done, the chances I haven't took, and the relationships I didn't make.

Jesus did not let fear stop him in his ministry.  Jesus went against the grain of him time.  I have the choice of how fear affects me--I can choose to let life go on around me or I can choose life.