With Gods Help I Faced My Fear of Driving
Spend more time with God and lean on Him for the grace you need.
After getting married and moving from Costa Rica to the United States, everything about my life was different. I was adjusting to a new marriage and a new culture. Most things in my life felt like a challenge, especially driving. The multiple lanes of busy traffic overwhelmed me. So, I decided to put it off.
Of course, being dependent on my friends and family for rides wasn’t ideal; I wanted the freedom to come and go on my own. But being a non-driver became normal to me. Altogether, I went 15 years without a license. During that time, my fear of driving became a phobia. But God had a perfect plan to set me free.
Every day, I felt God calling me to drive. But when you have a phobia, you don't want to face it… you won’t deal with it. You need God’s strength to take even the smallest step forward. Thankfully, I found that strength when someone gave me a copy of Joyce’s book Battlefield of the Mind.
One night at a party, I met another woman who also loved God. And she gave me the book that God would use to free me from my fear.
After reading Battlefield of the Mind for the first time, I was already thinking more positively. And the more I read the book, the more I grew spiritually. Chapters like “Don’t Give Up!” “Little by Little,” and “Be Positive” were very helpful because I began to understand that God was going to guide me through the entire process. I wouldn’t have to do it alone.
My husband helped me practice driving every day, working on everything from lane changes to parallel parking. Just before I’d start the car, I would say Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” So, my focus was on the Bible verse, not on the fear that I was feeling. Within three months, I passed my written and manual driver’s tests!
My struggle was with driving and yours might be with something completely different. But I do recommend reading Battlefield of the Mind, because it has a very powerful message: Whatever you’re going through, God is with you. You’re not doing it alone.
In the book Joyce says, “It’s easy to quit; it takes faith to go through.” So, when things get hard, spend more time with God and lean on Him for the grace you need. Don’t just read the Bible, believe what it says…that His promises are for you! Because with God’s help, you cannot fail.
