5. Keep a private journal or diary that records fears you and God have conquered together. With each victory will come additional confidence for the future.
One of the most beloved and colorful sports personalities was a basketball coach known affectionately as “Jimmy V.” Of course, I’m talking about Jimmy Valvano, the coach who led his North Carolina State team to a national championship in 1983. Later he became an outstanding TV analyst and a lovable, wise-cracking humorist. But most of all, Jimmy V will be remembered for the courageous way he faced cancer. Just a few weeks before he died, he was honored on national television. In his remarks to that vast audience, he showed us his heart, a heart that was not terrorized by cancer or anything else.
Jimmy V said, “Today I fight a different battle. You see, I have trouble walking and I have trouble standing for a long period of time. Cancer has taken away a lot of my physical abilities. Cancer is attacking and destroying my body. But what cancer cannot touch is my mind, my heart, and my soul. I have faith in God . . . and hope that things might get better for me. But even if they don’t, I promise you this — I will never give up. I will never ever quit. And if cancer gets me . . . then I’ll just try my best to go to heaven and be the best coach they’ve ever seen up there.”1
Jimmy V knew the secret for overcoming fear. St. Paul expressed that secret in these words: “Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:39) If you know that deep in your heart, your faith will overcome any fear!
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Bill Bouknight is Senior Pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis, TN. He is a Contributing Editor of Preaching.
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NOTES:
1. Moore, James W., Attitude is Your Paintbrush, (Dimensions for Living: Nashville, 1998), p. 64.