” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.” 1 Peter 3:15-16
I have two main weaknesses that trigger other weaknesses.
- I am an introvert.
- I am paralyzed by the fear of failure, or even the appearance of failure.
I know being an introvert in itself is not a weakness, but how I handle it is. I like to hide from people. I don’t have confidence that I will be able to carry on conversations without something turning awkward. I joke with my husband, please get me that shirt that says “I came, I saw, I made things awkward”. Then at-least people would be prepared. {Insert laughing emoji}.
The truth is, I have not been given the “gift to gab”. I have realized part of it is because I am so afraid of failure. I obsess that I will say the wrong thing then other people may think I am dumb. While I am working through these things, I have found one thing to be true. While I may not have the gift of smooth charismatic skills, I am fully equipped to bring the fullness of Jesus everywhere I go.
While each one of us has different talents, personalities, and skills, we all as believers have one thing in common: Jesus. We can each take His love with us wherever we go. How do we do this?
First we need to be in His Word. The more we let the truths of His Word penetrate our heart, the more hope and joy will fill us. Jesus said, we need come to Him to find rest. When we soak in and believe the truths in the Bible, we will have a rest, joy, and peace that fills us no matter what. It may not always feel like we have that joy and peace. However, the more we believe Hs Word, the more we will be able to cling to trusting Him when our feelings don’t follow. That in-itself is rest. We will still have emotions but we know that while our emotions may say one thing, Jesus says another and we can trust Him. When we love and believe the Word, we will be filled more and more with Him and less and less of self.
We need to grow in our relationship with Him in prayer. Prayer is more than praying when we wake up, before meals, and going to bed. It is a constant communication with Him. It is:
- bringing thoughts to Him through the day
- praying Bible verses back to God
- praying with our children when they have arguments
- praying for Jesus’ strength when we feel weak
- asking Jesus to help us focus back on Him when we start looking around
- asking Him to direct us on who to speak to as we are walking into church
- claiming to choose Jesus out-loud and saying “satan get behind me” when the attacks from the enemy feel so strong
Jesus wants us to be constantly seeking His help. It is far to easy to do go about life in our own knowledge. But that will only last so long. We can maintain confidence, rest, and wisdom when we are quick to turn to Him in prayer. When we share our heart with Him, He guides us with His strong hand. Don’t ever underestimate the power of prayer my friends.
Trust Him for our identity. I struggle with this one to this day. Because there are so many differences in people, it is hard to not compare ourselves. For along time I made excuses for my cooking. Now, I can cook for my family, but cooking for other people is not my forte. I always felt a little odd, I mean isn’t a wife supposed to be a good cook? I took runny jello salads to potlucks, uneven pies to church events, and served burnt soups to friends (because you know you can always leave the burnt bottom on the bottom ;). I made excuses like: “I was in a hurry, I haven’t tried this recipe before….” And they were valid reasons. However, when I got down to the root of it, I realized, am just not talented at cooking and I really don’t care. But I made excuses because I didn’t want my identity to be a “bad cook”. I wanted to be a good cook. I excused my lack of desire to cook with reasons that were legit, but didn’t cover the whole story. I kept making excuses for my cooking until the day I bought a gluten free box mix to make for a relative. You see, when I pulled out pre-made cookies instead of the mix I thought was in there, I decided to own the fact that I just am not a “good” cook. There is a short in my brain with cooking and hospitality and THAT’S OKAY. I will own it, and learn to laugh at my cooking mess ups.
You see, I was so worried people would identify me as a bad cook I kept stressing myself out over my failures. But, the truth is our identity is not in how we perform or the stereotypes we think we should be good at. It is in Jesus Christ. I had grasped that truth long before I decided I was going to let go of trying to be a good cook, but that specific aspect hadn’t quite soaked in all the way. We are each a work in process and God is continually chiseling away our identity so we can reflect His better. When we allow Him to teach us in specific areas that we need to let go of an identity, we can grow in radiating HIM through the talents He has given us. No, I am not a good cook, but I love to write. I can sign up to take chips and carrots, and other things I can’t mess up on when I attend church events and that is OK! When I focus on the areas God has called me to, I can shine a better light for Him. Our identity is in HIM. When we keep coming back to that foundation, we can confidently go anywhere knowing our identity is a child of the King.
Where do you shine best for Him? It is ok if it is not in a particular stereotype. Don’t believe the lie that it has to look “spiritual”. It can be taking someone a meal, babysitting kids, selling cars, whatever your talents are use them! Because in doing the things you are called to do using the gifts God has given you, you will radiate a joy and bless someone else with Jesus’ love. Don’t look around to other people’s talents and gifts, and feel inferior. It take us all working together to form the big picture. Shine where you are planted and always trust Him for your identity.
Don’t let negative comments drag you down. Be where God has called you to. Lean in close to hear what God has to say. There is no shut door God can’t open, and there is no open door God can’t shut (Revelation 3:7). It is all about God and if He calls you to it, there is nothing that can separate you from it. This one kind of ties in with the last one. We need to trust God’s opinion more than mans. Negative comments will come. There will be people who don’t understand or agree with us. But if we are looking to God and pleasing Him alone (yes, even over ourselves), we will be succeeding even if no one else agrees. When we know our audience of One is pleased, we can go anywhere and do anything with a boldness and confidence not crafted with human hands. We will still have doubts, insecurities, and fears, but we will be able to face them with a sustaining force and tenacity we could never imagine. We can take that boldness and confidence everywhere we go always glorifying God.
By establishing our reading and prayer life, we can be confident in our identity no matter what people say. When we have these ingredients in our hearts, we can boldly radiate the fullness of Jesus everywhere to anyone. When we are walking in tune with Jesus Christ, we don’t have to fear! We are right where we are supposed to be. We can bubble over with this confidence–essentially the fulness and love of Jesus. Will we always get it right? No. When I get in a rut where I know I am not radiating Jesus love like I should, I deeply analyze these four areas to see what I am neglecting. It may take awhile to learn, but if we are listening, God will show us what we are blind to.
Listen to Him my friend. Find your confidence in Him. Then take it and share it with others!
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