"You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you." Deuteronomy 3:22

Fear of the unknown and lack of trust in God's power are what ultimately kept the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for forty years, even after God had freed them from slavery in Egypt and led them right to the promised land. Fear and unfaithfulness held the people back from claiming their land, and the book of Deuteronomy finds the Israelites finally at the end of their waiting and preparing to enter Canaan. God's love is evident as a protective father reminding them over-and-over again in the phrase, "You shall not fear," which appears numerous times in Deuteronomy.  

When my kids started taking skiing lessons in 2020 and enjoyed it so much that they wanted me to learn to ski as well, I found myself in a similar position as the Israelites: held back by fear of the unknown and lack of trust in God's power or my abilities. Finally in 2022, I really started acknowledging some of the head trash that maintained all the power over my choice to stay in the chalet while the rest of my family skied: "I wasn't a good skier when I tried before, why should now be any different? I hate the winter and being cold. It won't really be fun. I will get hurt, or worse, break a leg." Do any of those statements sound familiar to you? Just like the Israelites who allowed the size of Canaanites to intimidate them and override all of God's promises and power to bring victory no matter what, I gave my fears more credibility than God's power. Also, like the Israelites, I allowed my ONE, bad past experience with skiing dictate my future.

Amazingly, God's forgiveness and mercy dissolve all our fears and harmful past experiences. He proves through His love and sacrifice on the cross that each day is new, and the past does not dictate the future; regardless of whether our failures were due to disobedience, bad choices, or just bad circumstances out of our control, God's love heals our hurt and opens the door to new opportunities. In Deuteronomy and in our own lives, God presents opportunities by working often through people in our lives. While Joshua and Caleb were there to lead the Israelites confidently into Canaan, a group of women in my ski lessons at Trollhaugen helped me gain the skills I needed to understand how to navigate down the trails "remaining balanced on a moving platform." Now, while skiing, as I slowly navigate down the mountain, I've replaced my head trash that screamed: "You're going to fall and fail," with reminders to "Keep your upper body quiet" and "Compress your legs from the ankles to the hips like a cylinder," along with a healthy dose of "Great job! You're    doing it." And each time I slide off the chair lift, still upright, and ready to go down the trail again, I look for the next turn to keep my eyes focused on the little goals and not tackling the entire mountain all at once. God can do amazing things in our lives if we just lean into His power and look for the opportunities around us to lead us to a new future.

Prayer: Powerful and faithful God, thank You for giving me a new day and new opportunities to seek a better future each time I wake up. When my head trash fills me with doubt and fear, remind me that I'm not alone and fear has no grip on me or my choices. Amen.