Constantly thrashing.

You ever read something, and it hit you hard in the gut? This quote from Life of Pi did that very thing to me:

"I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life."

If there was ever a biblical resonance in a fiction novel, I think this would be it.

Fear is a crippling devil. It serves to destroy a person, turning their heart from reliance on God to reliance on self.

A fearful person looks much like a person relying on their own willpower to defeat the waves–a useless endeavor.

I once was the epitome of fear.

I was the anxious type who constantly updated her "Find My" location app to make sure all those she loved were still within her grasp.

Gross.

This fear was suffocating, yet one that God was always trying to gently remove from my fingers.

I like how my writer friend, Don, has put it in his blog post:

"But over the past few months, the Lord has put his finger on that trait in me and invited me to change." 

It is an act of kindness when God benevolently challenges us to turn from our "tried and true" ways of doing things to accepting His way.

But this only works when we're ready to receive Him.

Otherwise, we're constantly thrashing against the waters, the force of the ocean, in a desperate attempt to not drown.

How much more peaceful to grow still and let God bring us safely to shore.