Is Fear Holding You Back?

I've been reading this book titled "Waking the Dead," by Christian author John Elderedge. This is the second book of his I have read and have really learned a lot from them.

The thing I read this morning was about letting fear hold us back from what we're really meant to do. Our heart is not being free to let God do with it what he wants.

We have abilities we have not yet discovered and God is calling us to open our hearts to him and allow him to get over the fear to lead and do other great things in His name.

There are so many things I want to do for him to further his word, but I don't do them because I allow fear to take over with excuses. Fear keeps us all from receiving our glory from God, we are allowing it to keep us from fully experiencing the great things he has planned for us to do.

In the book He says we are hiding from our real self. We have things in our inner being that we know we have, but were faking it and hiding from people what we really can do. He talks about an experience with a counselor in college. Here's is some of it from the book.

As part of our course requirement, we had to meet with a graduate assistant for an hour each week. This being a Christian program, I thought she would go after my sin. Instead, she went after my glory. No one had ever done that before.

"Why are you holding back?" she asked.

I hesitated, stalled. "I'm not sure what you're talking about." She said, "Yes, you do. You are holding back, playing it safe."

I was squirming. Is this the what Adam felt as he heard the voice of God coming closer to his hiding place in the bushes? Where are you? Now she said to me, "Now you are gifted enough to pull it off, make it look like you're engaged with us. But you are running on only six cylinders; I know you have eight. Come forward and lead us."

It was a more than a little unnerving, I'd been seen; I'd been found out. But not as a disappointment, not as a bad heart exposed. Rather it was my glory that had been seen. My gift needed to come forth.

I like what he wrote about that. That he had been discovered by someone else that he was playing it safe he was fearful of becoming a professional counselor because of fear. He needed to let his gift come forth. Are there things you feel that need to come forth and allow you to lead? Projects, talents that are burning inside you that you really feel you want to be doing. Fear holds us back. It may be the fear of others holding back your dreams. Fearful that they don't believe in you, that you can't do it. So you let those dreams or gifts melt away in your soul and they never come forth.

I like the phrase his counselor says in the book, "Come forward and lead us!" I was hesitant about doing this blog when my cousin John asked if I would do it. I didn't think anybody would want to read a bunch of blabber from me. But I jumped out of my fear and chose to write one and I lost my fear of being afraid of saying the wrong thing and maybe angering somebody. But I chose to not allow others to fear me away from this. I love it, and I think God's words that he writes through me have helped some and have maybe given a little light to those that were in darkness.

I have watched my daughter over the past couple of years and I can already predict her future being in God. She is bold in the things she says and has no fear of anybody. She is very nurturing to her little brother and just has so much love for her little friends at school. She is like me in many ways, I have really never met a stranger, I really have no fear of talking to anybody. But over the past few years I have really started to become a slight introvert. I really didn't think I had a lot in common with people. I kind of feared going to our Bible class party the other night, I just didn't feel I had anything to talk about with anybody. But that all changed when I decided to just walk through the door and let God take over. I had the best time and really had a lot in common with all of them. Shannon and I are just really blessed by our decision to attend College Church and glad we chose the class we did. These are great young people with a Godly desire to love, serve and help one another. Fear is our greatest enemy and Satan knows it's his best weapon. "Come Forth and Lead."