Becoming a Courageous Christian: Devotions for the Faith of Heart - Name That Fear!

Fear is a natural part of life. It is an emotion that everyone experiences at some point in their lives. As children, we are often afraid of people we don't know. We're afraid of classmates that taunt us. We are afraid of the neighbor's dog. We are afraid of our parents catching us doing something that was forbidden. We are afraid of unseen monsters under our beds. Quite frankly, we were afraid much of the time.

As we get older, it doesn't really change much. We're still afraid of meeting new people, we just label it differently. We still shy away from people who say bad things about us. Some of us are still afraid of the neighbor's dog. We still fear getting caught when we do things we know we shouldn't, we have just become more clever about hiding our transgressions, or justifying them. And unfortunately, there are still unseen monsters in our lives, though they have become bold enough to come out from under the bed, and we now know their names: Failure, Loneliness, Ridicule, Poverty. We still spend a lot of time being afraid, we have just given the word fear new names that others will accept: discomfort, worry, depression.

The point is, we are all afraid of something. There are parts of my life where I move forward boldly, and there are parts where I stand frozen, trembling in fear, unwilling to even tell someone that I'm afraid, because I am ashamed that I am afraid. We have hope though! In the midst of our fears, God comes calling, asking us to trust Him, to follow Him, and He will enable us to conquer all those fears.

Throughout history, God has called people to do His work. Some have followed willingly and boldly. Others have tried to reason with God why their not equipped for the job. Some asked God to give them sign after sign before they would believe in His providence and set out on their mission. Others simply fled, thinking they could out-run the omnipotent God. My question today, to YOU, is what is it that God has asked you to do, and because of fear, you have not done? We all have that ''thing'' in our lives, that one command that we have heard in our heart of hearts, that we have not acted upon yet. Some of us go years without even speaking it out loud, because we are afraid of what others will say. Will they laugh at me? Will they criticize me? Will they support me? And then there are the excuses: “I don't know how.” “I don't have the training.” “I'm not smart enough.”

Don't you think God already knows your limitations?? That is exactly why He has chosen YOU for that specific task! When you follow God in obedience to His call, He will enable you to achieve whatever task He has put in front of you, and when you succeed, everyone will know that it was because of God! Sure, people will look at you and think, “she doesn't know what she's doing, she's had no training, she's not smart enough to do that.” Some of them will even say it out loud, determined to keep you from following through on God's plan. But sister, this is your chance to give God some pretty serious glory!

Not convinced yet? Ok, let's look at some scripture: Matthew 14:23-29

Mat 14:23 And when He had sent the crowds away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when evening had come, He was there alone.
Mat 14:24 But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves; for the wind was against them.
Mat 14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
Mat 14:26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a phantom! And they cried out for fear.
Mat 14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer, I AM! Do not fear.
Mat 14:28 And Peter answered Him and said, LORD, if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water.
Mat 14:29 And He said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

That is certainly not the end of the passage, nor the end of the lesson, but I will save that part for another day. The point in these few scriptures, is that anyone on that boat could have stepped out in faith, and gone to Jesus. Peter, however, was the only one who was brave enough to take that first step. Peter was then the only one to walk on water like Jesus.

I love what it says in verse 27: “Be of good cheer, I AM! Do not fear.” It's like the first time you rode a bike as a child, and your mom or dad says to you, “Don't worry, I'm right here. I won't let you fall.” You feel their steady hand on your back , running along beside you, keeping you upright as you learn how to ride. Isn't that what God is telling us? Just to take that step of faith, and move? He promises to be right there. He has called us to this task, and He will help us every step of the way.

Becoming a Courageous Christian: Devotions for the Faint-of-Heart

Faithsisters is very excited to introduce devotionals by Angela Marshall.....

Don't mistake the title of this devotion to be one founded in the heart of someone who has the courage of a lion. If I am anything like any lion, it would be the cowardly one in the “Wizard of Oz.”

All my life, I can remember being afraid. It doesn't seem to matter how minor or silly the situation, most likely I was going to be scared of it. If you promise not to laugh, (not that I'll ever know), I will share some of those fears with you.

(In no particular order)

1.Dogs: It didn't matter what size the dog was, I had a love/hate relationship with them. I loved puppies, and always wanted a dog. I wanted that dog and master relationship with man's best friend like I saw on t.v. The problem was, even when the dog was mine, I was always slightly afraid of the animal turning on me. Perhaps the problem stems back to a neighbor who had a ferocious beast they said was a dog, and said beast would chase me if it caught me in the area between yards.

2.Gathering Candy at Parades: Soooo stupid, this one. I don't have a clue why, but I was never comfortable running out to get candy like all the other kids across America do at every parade ever marched. Dumb, I know.

3.Singing in Public: This one most people will identify with, but it's funny that this was one of my biggest fears in life, and yet, the road God has called me to travel in service to Him. We'll talk more about the irony of this later.

4.Speaking Out Loud: I'm not talking about giving speeches. I'm actually talking about just... well... talking. Throughout my school and church experiences as a child, it was very difficult for me to open my mouth and speak up when questions were asked. Even when I was sure of the answers, there was this unexplainable fear of ''what if I'm wrong?”. Why? I don't know. That's one answer I am sure I don't know.

5.Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Yes, virtually any form of transportation, I am uncomfortable with. I prefer not to drive. I am extremely cautious when behind the wheel, and I don't enjoy driving like a lot of people. In fact, I waited until I was 21 to even get my license, and even then, it was a have-to situation.

Oh, there's more. There are a lot of things I could go on and on about, and perhaps over the course of the devotional, they will come up as a result of the scripture readings. For now, these examples, silly though they may be, will have to suffice to show the reader (you) that I am sufficiently afraid enough to be called a genuine “coward”.

The problem with being a coward, is that we're not supposed to live our lives in fear. Romans 8:15 tells us, “God's Spirit doesn't make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father.” (Common English Version) In fact, we're not supposed to fear anything. Over and over again, the Lord tells us not to be afraid. He tells us to “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:9). Throughout history, God has called His people to different tasks. Some He has called to be prophets. I'm sure that in that group somewhere, some of those called were afraid of public speaking. Others He has called to be prayer warriors, when most likely, they had no idea how to go about talking to God. Some of us He has called to be lead worshippers, even those of us who have never felt quite good enough.

The journey we're going to take throughout the course of devotions here at Faith Sisters is going to show us how much we are like some of the great founders of our faith. They too were afraid, but chose to trust God and obey His call. We're going to study those that stepped out in faith, and through God's greatness, achieved great things. Along the way, I'm sure we'll see ourselves mirrored in these people, and perhaps just learning about those who have gone before, we'll find ourselves trusting a little more, and trembling in fear a lot less.