"No Fear"

“God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.”

I read this article years ago. I think I was in high school. This guy goes to two classrooms. One is a lecture room at a college. He says to the freshman students, “how many of you can paint?” A few raise their hands. Then he asks, “how many of you can sing?” One raises her hand but accompanies it by saying “I’m ok. Not really that great.” Then he asks, “How many of you can act?” Another few students raise their hands but for the most part, the lecture hall filled with students was silent. So then he goes to the other classroom. This is an elementary class filled with kindergarten students. He poses the same questions and with each question almost every student raises their hand excitedly.

Why am I sharing this story? Between kindergarten and college, something changed in these students. Something changes in all of us as we grow. In some ways reality sets in. No one can be good at everything. In other ways, fear becomes our reality. The things that we know we are good at, yet can be great at, are covered in the fear that others may not think we are good at.

Interviewer: I hear that you paint.

Beyonce: I do.

Interviewer: When can we see your work?

Beyonce: I paint for myself. I won’t ever show it to the world because then I’ll start trying to perfect it.

Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy to be bold with his gifts, to keep his special gifts ablaze!

In my own life, I’ve experienced crippling fear. I’ve always love writing. I don't care what it is. That goes for essays, poetry, and even books. I’ve probably written and completed 5 books. When I was 5, I started sharing everything I had written. Now, as an adult, I tell people that I peeked at 15 and I haven’t written anything good since then. But I have. I write all the time. The truth is, I started doing open mics at 15 with some of the best poets I’ve ever met and even if no one was judging me, I was judging myself. I was standing next to them and not measuring up, in my mind. I let my fear of inadequacy stunt my growth and creativity.

Today, I challenge each of you to release yourself from the shackles and bondage of fear. It’s not fair to the gift that God has placed in you. Dare to be great! I mean, you might as well….He died for it :-)