How do I get out of the pool?
- Own your false ways of performing, or whatever you do to work your way into God’s favor and into the acceptance of others.
- Confront the truth: you are wading, swimming or drowning in your own fear and trying to get out by your own efforts. Identify the deep fear. (Fear that you won’t be loved, accepted, valued, capable…) Own it. Bring it into the light before God and trusted others.
- Deal with it: Put to death your vain attempts. How? Stop performing! Stop whatever it is you do to try to get out.
- Own the truth of your fear long enough (feel it deeply) to truly connect to how desperate you are for the thing you are looking for. This may take minutes, hours, days, weeks.
- Grab onto the Cross and STAY there in the rawness of your insecurity and longings for acceptance. In this place RISK BELIEVING that God has already filled you with all that you hunger for. This is the faith piece which, by the way, is already given to you, i.e., love, strength, security….
- WAIT for the Lord: WAIT for the reality that is already in you to emerge in your thoughts, your emotions, your very being. This is where transformation takes place. (And for me, this place of waiting before God for what I long for, this is where I get my feet caught in some unseen rope firmly anchored to the bottom of the pool. But, I’ll talk more about that as we journey together.)
- ACT: Show up real, broken, human and take risks. There’s a good chance you will get exactly what you are looking for – love.
Here is another way of saying this: Christ is already in the pool with you. He got there by becoming human. The cross extends right into the middle of our broken humanity, into our cesspool of fear if you will. Let’s grab onto the cross day by day and see what happens. Will you risk believing that the cross, not your performance, pulls you out of your fear and into God’s security, confidence and love? If not, maybe you just like Baby Ruth’s too much. 
(That can’t be true, can it?!)
With affection,
Bob
Posted in: Uncategorized
Patrick Goodman
October 3, 2011
Bob:
Thanks for engaging us (CrossMG community) and encouraging us. After finishing up MATC in KY, I head back into the ‘cesspool of fear’ with my unknown future. YET, the truth from this weekend is still ringing in my ears, “I’m not God. I’m not in control.”
bobhudson7
October 4, 2011
Patrick, What a relief to let go of being in control! As I am prone to say, attempting to be in control is by definition a recipe for failure. There is not a lot we can control in life apart from how we engage the life we are given. Control fosters anxiety and frustration. It is my way of rejecting my humanity, my need for the Holy Other, God Himself. I choose to let go today, with you and everyone else who is on this path of learning to trust in God’s provision through Christ.
It was great to be with you and the Men at the Cross community this past weekend! Bob
Doug
October 4, 2011
Bob, I pointed others to your blog here. http://life2getherblog.com/2011/10/03/the-pool-of-fear-and-how-to-get-out-of-it/ Kinda cool, but a friend of mine in Nigeria (native) already posted it on his Facebook page. Praise God.
You (and others) might also find this video encouraging about pastors being at peace with who they are. http://life2getherblog.com/2011/10/04/pastor-be-at-peace-with-who-you-are/
Peace be with you,
Doug
bobhudson7
October 4, 2011
Thanks Doug. That is cool.