Go on, Jump!
Recently God has really been challenging me to step out in boldness especially when it comes to telling others about him. For some people, talking about Jesus is just natural, but for me it is a huge challenge. When given opportunities to talk about Jesus with people who do not know him, I am often overcome with fear.
As I tried to identify the source of this fear I thought back to some of the religious study classes I took in college. These classes tested my faith; they pushed me to question and defend what I believed. We often debated different aspects of religions and I remember fear overwhelming me. Fear that I would not know the answer or that my interpretation would be wrong. I realized that this is a fear I still carry with me.
Since identifying the fear, I have been asking God to take it away and fill me with boldness. God has made it clear that if I want to see boldness in the way I share Jesus with others, than I have to put forth the effort. I can pray and ask, but unless I put it into practice I will never see the results I want. To do so, I have to be willing to step out and try; I have to face my fear of failure head on.
The other day we went to a river to go swimming. As I stood on a river bank in Nepal, I watched as others carelessly jumped in the water. Slowly my fear of what could be in the water crept in. My need for security and safety keep me standing on the shore. I was scared of the unknown, but I desperately wanted to jump in. I wanted the experience. When else would I get an opportunity to swim in a river in Nepal? God challenged me to stop over analyzing the situation. To stop looking down at the water and letting fear have control over me. He told me to jump in the water and promised that he would be there with me. So I looked up to the sky and jumped.
In that moment, God taught me that I have to trust him. I have to believe that he will be there with me. That when talking to other people about him, he will provide me with the words to say. The truth is I can tell someone about Jesus and give a testimony of what he has done in my life, but to introduce someone to Jesus I need him to speak through me.
We often meet people randomly while riding a bus or walking in town. They are strangers. I do not know what they have been through in their lives, but God does. He knows what needs to be said to pull on their heart strings. To reveal himself to them. To make them see that he is talking directly to them through me. I just have to trust that he will be there with me.
We all have fears that prevent us from doing what God is asking us to do. Whether it is failure, rejection, or telling people about Jesus. God is bigger than fear and he wants you to overcome it. He is willing to walk with us through our fears until we overcome them, but we have to be willing to put forth the effort if we want to see the results. We have to be willing to jump into the midst of fears and face them. The question is: do we trust him to be there? Do we trust him enough to close our eyes and jump?
Go on, close your eyes and jump in the water with him.
