Very quickly, let me give you a couple of things to remember when you face white water episodes. Every one of us has times when we can get paralyzed by fear. If you say you have never been terribly afraid, I will say you are a liar or a fool. So, here are some ideas for handling the white water with God.
Here is number one: embrace the challenge before you. In 1 Samuel 17:32, David said to Saul, "Let no one's heart fail because of Goliath: I will go out and fight with him."
Do you remember the Bible story? Goliath, the giant, was threatening the army of Israel. Not one of the Hebrews wanted to deal with him. They all stood around kicking their sandals in the dust. David said, "Well, somebody has to fight him, so I will." When you face a problem, take it on! It does no good to stand around kicking your feet in the dust. It does no good to stick your head down between your legs. It might work in a bomb shelter, but it is not going to work in life. In addition, it does no good to stand up in the back of the canoe and say, "I want to go home!" You can't leave life.
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You can't bail out, and that tendency inside to want to bail out, to avoid, to say, "Somebody else ought to fix this," just makes the problem worse. Maybe your problem is finances. Maybe your problem is relationships. Maybe God is making you aware of things that have happened in your past that created either great guilt or great wounding. Whatever the situation, now is the time to deal with it! If you try to avoid the white water, the eventual crash just gets worse.
Number one: embrace the challenge before you. When you face the white water, go straight into it.
Number two: embrace the weakness that is within you. It is OK to be weak. It is OK not to have all the answers. It is OK to be scared. Letting it be okay to have moments of weakness in a paradoxical way opens your life to strength. In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul says, "When I am weak, then I am strong." Why could he say that? He was one of the most powerful and effective human beings ever to walk the face of the earth. He could say that because he discovered that when he was weak, shaking and not having all the answers, he was willing to listen to God and the people of God, and get the advice and direction he needed.
Let me tell you something very true. As long as you think you know it all, God can't tell you a thing. Is it OK for you to feel weak at times? Is it OK for you not to have all the answers? Do you have people in your life, Christian brothers and sisters, who you will let be your friends? Will you let Godly people help you and give you advice and hold you accountable to be your best self? When we talk about Bible studies and Sunday School and small groups in the church, they can help you when times get rough. The questions is, when you get into rough times, do you know that you don't have to have all the answers? God through His people, His Word, His Spirit can help.