Am I Walking By Faith or Fear?

When I am not using my white cane as a mobility tool, I must rely on another person to be my “sighted guide”…

This means that, as I hold on to my companion’s elbow, they lead me around obstacles and along a safe, clear path.

At least, that is the intention!

In this way, I can navigate by feeling how the other person moves as well as by relying on their verbal directions and cues.

SC being guided by her sighted guide and friend, Erica, outside on a path.

I have had a few minor mishaps with various sighted guides over the years, but one experience trumps them all.

I was being led into my parent’s house one evening when my guide did not warn me that we were about to step up from the gravel driveway onto the sidewalk…

To their defense, it was a very small rise, maybe about an inch off the ground.

However, it was just enough for me to stub my toe.

Okay…that’s a bit of an under-exaggeration.

When the top of my toe collided with the edge of the sidewalk, it completely sliced it open. Pain exploded through my foot as I limped into the house and began to apply one bandage after another.

Ouch!

After this unfortunate event, I was very hesitant to walk with that particular person again, even though the incident was an accident on their part.

Trust is a very powerful thing.

When I trust my sighted guide, I am able to move more confidently and freely. 

If I do not completely trust my sighted guide, however, I am going to walk with tension. My body will be stiff and my steps will be guarded and hesitant, as I expect to run into an obstacle at any moment.

God is kind of like a sighted guide for all of us, isn’t He?

We cannot always see the path ahead of us, but by clinging to Him, we can ensure that we will stay moving in a direction that is safe, clear, and full of hope.

We can walk confidently knowing that we have a leader who will never allow us to enter danger without His protection.

If we do not completely trust God and walk by faith, however, we will inevitably walk with tension throughout our lives.

This strain may arise as uncertainty, fear, or anxiety as we become guarded about all of the obstacles that may lay ahead of us.

The enemy feeds off of this strain in our lives because he knows, as humans, we like things to be smooth-sailing.

We are often willing to do almost anything to remove that tension, uncertainty, fear, anxiety from our lives, even if it means falling into sin.

 There is another option, though.

Graphic with Sara Claudia Ministries' logo with text that says, "Walk by faith, not by fear."

Take hold of God, trust His leadership completely, and walk by faith…not by fear.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 says,

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

You see, if we continue to cling to God’s elbow and trust Him completely as our sighted guide, we will be like this tree.

Even when we face that heat, hardships in our lives, or that drought, times of uncertainty, we will not stumble.

Rather, we will be replenished and protected by God’s ever-presence and guiding hand.