Bear: I’m Powered By Faith!

TV adventurer Bear Grylls says his daredevil life isn’t sustained through his human strength.

He’s circled Britain on a jet ski, hosted dinner in an air balloon at 25,000ft and paramotored 9,000ft up the Himalayas.

But presenter Bear Grylls says it is faith, not human strength, that powers him.

In Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s book ‘In This Light’, global adventurer and Chief Scout Grylls says he could not live his daredevil lifestyle without the Christian faith which provides his strength and courage.

“I’ve tried to do without it. And I’ve survived, for a while – but alone we can never be fully empowered,” he says.

“Time and many adventures have taught me that to be complete and fully alive, I need this life-giving presence that faith provides.”

Grylls’ raft of hair-raising adventures also includes eating and sleeping in animal carcasses, crossing gorges on zip wires and conquering unclimbed peaks in Antarctica. So you could forgive him for wanting to maintain tight control of his own life.

But opening up to faith, even when that too is challenging, is a far better way to live, he says.

“It is almost as if, over time, I have found the courage to admit that my longing for this life of love and faith is stronger than the pride that says we have to do it alone.

"It takes some humility to relinquish control."

“It takes some humility to relinquish control. But it is the starting point of true adventure. Just read some of the great stories of old if you’re in any doubt there.”

And what of those who dismiss faith as a crutch for the weak?

“Some might call faith a crutch. But what does a crutch do? It helps us stand and it gives us a weapon to fight with,” says Grylls.

“And as time goes on, there’s no doubt I need that strength more and more, every day, to tackle the battles of life and climb the mountains we all face.”

And for those repelled by religion, Grylls is quick to point out that Jesus was ‘the least religious, the most free and probably the wildest character I know of’.

“He loved a party and hung out with the rejected, the untamed and the outsiders,” he says.

Ultimately, Grylls concludes, faith is a journey, and to walk it every day takes courage.

“All too often it’s the tougher path. But life and the wild have taught me that the tougher path almost always ends up being the most fulfilling one.

“My faith tells me that I am known, that I am loved and that I am forgiven – regardless of how many times I fall and fail.

“When we’re at our weakest, faith can help us find true strength.”

This article was taken from the Spring 2020 issue of iBelieve Magazine.