If we turn back or grind to a halt on the path of following Jesus because of fear of any kind- than we are holding out on God…
At “Thirsty Wednesday” last night, Brent Ingersoll prayed that God would “show us a vision of our calling and grant us the courage to walk into it without fear and insecurity“. As he poured out that prayer, I immediately felt the power of seeing myself and our congregation at Kings Valley Wesleyan Church moving in freedom and courage into all that God has called us to be and do. Then I quickly recognized that this would truly be miraculous and would not happen without God’s grace and without Him bringing a change in me and in us as a church.
I enjoy listening to people as they talk about what God wants them to be and do. Their dreams, struggles, successes and failures – all help me to stay in the game and to find hope for my journey. Lately a friend of mine said to me that he feels that the biggest barrier standing in the path of living out our calling is “getting over ourselves”.
He’s right!! I’d love to experience everyday life with a strong allegiance to the rights of the kingdom of God as a higher value than my so called personal/individual “rights“.
What if we lived each day with a focus on His will being done on earth as it is in heaven?
What if I were not so sympathetic with myself and others when we hold out on God because of fear and insecurity and leave His mission unaccomplished?
What if it wasn’t considered normal amongst us any more to hang back and take our time in making the courageous sacrifices necessary to show our world that Jesus cares and is here to rescue them no matter what they are going through or no matter what it might cost us?
Getting over myself and my wants is a heartbreaking experience sometimes… sad as I am to admit it… But, I do believe the answer still lies in finding my contentment and fulfillment in allowing God to completely fill me with His perfect love. I John 4:18 (NIV)…
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
If we turn back or grind to a halt on the path of following Jesus because of fear of any kind- than we are holding out on God. How can we be satisfied with that?
I am becoming increasingly discontent with myself over this issue and sometimes I even get angry about it and I am sharing here because I feel many of us are stuck and would love to break through these barriers of fear and insecurity.
I have a friend that told me that the best thing she brought back from a compassion/ministry trip to China was “new eyes”. When she told me that, I grinned and nodded my head like I knew what she meant. But… I really didn’t. I figured she had a great time and her hipster way of expressing it was that she came home with “new eyes”.