When God Helps You Do Something You Thought You Could Never Do

Is there something you think you could never do, but you wonder if God might just want you to do it one day? Maybe something you want to do, but you just feel too afraid to try?

If it’s something that’s from the Lord and in His plan, I bet that it isn’t impossible after all.

Driving has been like that for me.

I’m just returning to the working world after a lovely 3 months of Sabbatical. God is so kind in having given me a break. It’s been a huge blessing to rest!

But I’ve also been growing, and learning, and working things through with the Lord.

And one thing I’ve been working on, with His help, is dealing with fear. Specifically, facing the fear of driving.

Driving is something I’ve struggled with on and off for years. Fear of driving on big roads. Maybe it sounds crazy, but driving can make me kind of panic, which is scary when you’re behind the wheel on a big road, and you absolutely have to be safe and in control until you can pull over.

Years ago, I worked a lot at driving. God helped me grow in little goals, one baby step at a time, and I eventually began to do big motorway journeys on my own, and even enjoy them sometimes! I made huge strides for a while, and then I went through a stressful time and lost a lot of confidence, and lost a lot of ground. And I never really got it back. I ended up only doing very limited local journeys, and not daring to try anything else.

But the Lord has been encouraging me that I don’t have to stay limited by fear.

I’ve learned a lot about anxiety over the years, and I’ve learned about exposure hierarchies (this is based on my understanding but I’m definitely not an expert, so I recommend getting some expert advice if you’re thinking of copying me!). Basically, you expose yourself to something that makes you anxious, gradually but increasingly, and, over time, the anxiety will reduce. It’s not fun. It’s scary if you do it properly. But, over time, the anxiety goes down. If you face the fear, it will gradually begin to lose its power. Until it’s not really there at all.

And if you do so with the Lord, one step at a time as He leads, leaning hard on Him, it can be a powerful way of breaking through fear.

The Lord has been teaching me about facing driving fear, one baby step at a time. He has been counselling me through a process. I’ve watched videos about facing driving anxiety. I’ve learned how other people do it. I’ve talked to others (including a doctor friend, just to make sure I’m safe to be on the road- I am!). And I’ve been prayerfully setting myself goals. Just one baby step at a time, reinforced over and over again until the fear goes down. And then, when I feel ready, climbing the next baby step on the ladder.

It hasn’t been easy. But it’s been working! The past 3 weeks, I’ve been driving little journeys on a road I had been avoiding for years. I do so with prayer, playing worship songs and rebuking the fear in Jesus’ name when I need to! And, to be honest, it feels easy now! Over and over and over again, and the fear begins to leave. The truth is that I am fine, and safe behind the wheel, and becoming more and more confident as I lean on the Lord.

It’s a work in progress. It takes time, and I’m not at the top of my exposure ladder yet. The Lord is showing me that doing it thoroughly and gradually will be more lasting than going too fast. And I know I need to be in a place where I’m safe and responsible, which means going at a pace I can handle.

It’s baby step progress, with prayer. But it’s working.

I’m driving on roads I didn’t think I could drive on, and I’m beginning to find that it isn’t scary anymore! My world is getting bigger as I realise that I can drive to places I didn’t think I could… and enjoy them when I get there! And I’m beginning to believe that, one day soon, I might even drive on a motorway again (which would definitely call for a celebration!).

The fear is leaving in Jesus’ Name.

Maybe it isn’t driving fear you struggle with. Maybe it’s something else. But I want to encourage you that the Lord can help you with it. Maybe you’ll, like me, step out and find yourself doing things you never thought you could! Maybe, like me, it will be slow progress, with prayer and help from others and one baby step at a time. But powerful breakthrough, nonetheless.

I’m learning that nothing is impossible with God! I’m learning that, when He is with us, the impossible isn’t impossible after all. 🙂