I'm spending some time this week with volunteers going door-to-door in Pflugerville knocking and talking. Next to the fear of public speaking or being anywhere without WiFi, the fear of knocking on doors ranks up there as most scary.
Some of the volunteers openly admit it's terrifying to them. But they're being brave. They signed up to help. Why? Because there's something they fear more than knocking on doors.
They fear that they might miss out on serving Jesus. They might not follow where he's leading. They might stay plateaued in their life of witnessing, and not learn a few things that can help them talk about Jesus more and better. They might not feel the thrill and excitement of making a difference in another person's soul.
This doesn't always make a person less afraid, but it does give a person more faith. Courage, you see, isn't always the absence of fear. Courage is saying, "This is scary, I'm not comfortable, but I'm doing it anyway. Because it's important to Jesus. And for my spiritual growth as I improve my life of service to others."
Courage is fear walking. Or knocking. Or starting something new. Or approving something bigger. Or giving up a bad habit. Or saying "yes" or "no" when Jesus is calling you forward in faith but everyone else is issuing caution. Or turning up the volume. Or being yourself.
Daniel walked into the lion's den. Esther walked into the throne room of King Xerxes. Abraham walked away from his successful business. Gideon walked away from his father's idols. Peter walked on water. Joseph and Mary walked to Bethlehem. All of them, to one degree or another, "afraid yet filled with joy" (Matthew 28:8) like the women who ran to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen.
Don't miss out because you think that, if you're afraid, then you can't act. That if you're afraid, you have to overcome fear first.
When what you need to do is God's, then you're not going to fail no matter how scared you are.
PRAYER: Dear God, give me the courage to walk with fear today, afraid yet filled with joy. To do what you want me to do. God, you and I can do anything! Amen.
FURTHER MEDITATION: Need some courage. Read Romans 8:31-39. "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
- Whose approval has been more important to you than God's? How is it working trying to make everyone happy? What fear is more important to you than the fear of letting God down? or missing an opportunity to grow?
- What words in this section support this statement: Believers may fail, but they are never failures.
- What is something in your life that God is "for" (v. 31) but you haven't acted on it because of fear? Pray about it this week.
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