Something Abba is teaching me-
Fear of peoples opinions, judgments and criticisms is a REAL thing. It’s actually a way bigger issue than we might realize. It lives in everyone, rather we will admit it or not. This fear is something we all create in our own minds and then use each other to feed off of it. In my opinion, this fear is one of the largest reasons many people don’t ever step out boldly. This is me stepping out boldly and inviting everyone reading this in on a fear of mine.
Since I began this journey I have let myself be scared what people were going to say and think about me taking this path. I was scared of the comments like “oh there goes the Jesus girl who doesn’t like to have fun, be careful what you say and do in front of her”. I was scared of the idea of going home changed at the end of the race and my family/friends not enjoying the person I have become. I even had people tell me they didn’t know if they were gonna like the person I am going to grow into and say things like “you better not become a Jesus freak”.
I let this fear dictate whom I talked to about my faith. I let it dictate what I posted on social media, scared that people where going to rip it apart and judge me for it. It made me overthink what was too much or too little. It brought so much comparison into the picture. I let the fear of other peoples thoughts hold me back from sharing the good news. It made me fearful people were going to think I am on this adventure for the wrong reasons. Tiny insecurities suddenly spiraled into big insecurities.
Well, this is now me saying, I want to be a Jesus Freak. I want people to look at me and see Jesus in me. Our Lord is good. Our Lord loves every single one of us. Who am I to prohibit Him from using me to spread the kingdom because of my own fears? Who am I to lead in a poor example of his goodness? The Lord fills me with all of these passions and I have let my brain put a limit on that.
I have decided to walk in freedom from this fear because I simply just don’t have to live in it. That is a choice. The Lord’s opinions triumph all other opinions and that is enough for me. I encourage everyone else to sit in that. I encourage you to really question yourself and think of passions you have put limits on because of fear. I then challenge you to free yourself from that because you will find the results are quite beautiful. Find the opinions that matter to you and silent the rest. It is your life, your actions and your thoughts, take authority in that.
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4:8
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
1 John 3:1
