Faith and fear are enemies. You must choose one or the other, but you cannot have both.

Some boys were playing on a beach with a large beach ball. By accident the ball was thrown too high and, driven by the wind, landed in the water. No thought was given to it for a few minutes until one of the boys noticed it was going farther and farther from shore. One of the boys decided to retrieve the ball. After entering the water he realized that it was farther from shore than he had thought. Grabbing hold of the ball proved more difficult than he had expected, for it was riding high on the waves. Each time he sought to grip it, the ball slipped out of his hands.

About this time he noticed that he was quite a distance from shore, and realized, too, that he was getting tired. At that point some fear gripped him as he realized that he could drown. But he was a Christian and so he spoke a brief prayer, calling on God to protect him. His prayer brought him reassurance that God would help him, and his fear was replaced by confidence. Suddenly the thought occurred to him that he should swim around the ball so that each attempt to grab it would push it in toward the shore. The plan worked. In a matter of minutes he was able to step on shore with the retrieved ball. Every Christian has the choice in every situation: succumb to fear or have faith. Learning this lesson can bring peace of mind in the many turmoils we pass through in this life.