Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict.
Luke 21:14-15 (emphasis added)

Some of the most anxiety-ridden, dreaded, fearful times people go through relate to speaking. Speaking in front of people. Speaking on the phone. Speaking to a boss. Speaking to a co-worker or a friend about something negative. What to say. When to say. Should I say? It goes on and on. I don’t know how many ways to be scared of speaking there are, but I do know that the National Institutes of Mental Health did surveys and have shown that 75% of people rank public speaking as their number one fear. That’s above death and cancer people. Talking in front of others.

I can understand the issue – although I have never suffered from it myself. I have a switch in my head that I flick and words pour out until I turn it off. Whether I have anything useful to say or not is something else. Which is, I suppose, one of the ways that fear grips us in speech. What if I make a fool of myself? What if I embarrass myself? What if people laugh? Is it the variables that cause the issue or is it just the worry itself? I don’t know and this is going to be a rabbit hole if I keep going this way.

Although Moses was trained up in the wisdom of Egypt and was a powerful speaker the forty years he was in the royal palace (Acts 7:22), by the time he was being called by the Lord (forty years later) he had lost all his confidence. “Moses said to Yahweh, “O Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue””(Exodus 4:10). What was the Lord’s response? Much the same as when Jesus was instructing His followers thousands of years later. “Yahweh said to him, “Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn’t it I, Yahweh? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak”” (Exodus 4:11-12). Truly the Lord is the same yesterday and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

The major difference we have over Moses (or anyone of the Old Testament) is that the Holy Spirit came upon them and with us He dwells within us. It was always external with them, and internal with us. We have the better covenant, the fulfilment of what God started at Mount Sinai. Again and again the Holy Spirit spoke to men and women, giving them words to say. Teaching them. And they spoke. In easy circumstances and difficult ones. Sometimes losing their lives. Sometimes getting to see the Lord’s redemption and mercy in action. Other times seeing the hard heartedness of people who would not turn their faces to the Lord and suffered the consequences of where they chose to walk.
But we are in a different place. A better place. “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. For finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says the Lord: “I will put my laws into their mind; I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people. They will not teach every man his fellow citizen and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more”” (Hebrews 8:7-12).

Some of that covenant we walk in. Some is yet to come. I look forward to when the Lord writes His Word into my heart and mind so that I don’t have to fight my flesh to get it in there. But that’s where the Lord graced us with a love of His Word — so we will be happy to take the time it takes to get it into our hearts (Psalm 119:97). It will be nice for it to be permanent, though. Until then, I will continue to study the Word and think on the Word and let it travel the paths of my mind until it sinks into my heart – as assisted by the Holy Spirit. “But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). He will bring to mind all that I place in there and all that I hear (John 14:26).
Which brings us to speaking. Whether we are speaking to the Lord, to a human, or to a crowd of humans, the Holy Spirit can give us the words. Whether we are speaking to inform, speaking in defence, or speaking for fun, the Holy Spirit can give us the words. We have to choose to say them, but He can hold them up for us to read with our spirit. With our minds. We can choose to be guided. Sometimes, we won’t remember what we even said — but those who hear us will. It is part of the wonder and the privilege of following the Lord. He guides our paths, He lets us stand in the gap and proclaim, and He lets us talk His talk when we’re walking His walk (1 Peter 1:13-16).

When we are walking where He leads us (Psalm 23:1-4), then, we don’t have to worry about words. What about content? It’s more than just saying what the Holy Spirit brings to mind. It’s also about understanding the ideas behind the specific words that we say. Now, some of it will be beyond us because the Lord is greater than we are (Isaiah 55:8, 1 Corinthians 3:19). However, the Lord promises us something. Again and again. “For Yahweh gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He lays up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, that he may guard the paths of justice, and preserve the way of his saints” (Proverbs 2:6-8). “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (Ephesians 1:17).

If we ask Him, He will give us wisdom (James 1:5). When we walk righteously before Him — something we can only do by abiding in Jesus and keeping our mind in the Word — then the Lord will give us wisdom for the tasks that He sets before us (Ecclesiastes 2:26). The Lord gives His church both knowledge and wisdom when we seek Him for it (1 Corinthians 12:8). He doesn’t want to leave us where we will be ineffective. He doesn’t want to put us in a place where we will not be successful or make poor decisions. He has the tools for us to use. But we need to ask for them (Colossians 1:9). If we will ask, if we will be obedient and submit ourselves to Him, then He will grant us wisdom. He will grant us knowledge. He will be faithful to deliver on His promises. But we have to be walking with Him. We have to be striving for righteousness as we abide in Jesus. Putting down the flesh. Taking up our cross and following Him (Matthew 16:24-26).

This isn’t a one-off. This is a daily thing. All day long. Every time you need to. Staying our mind on HIS things, not our things. It is easy to say. It is not always easy in practice. The mind is made to wander. We need to make sure it is wandering the paths of the Lord, not the paths of the world. Discipline, prayer, hearing the Word, meditating on what we read. This is how we do it. Day by day. Verse by verse. Led by the Holy Spirit, and obedient to what we find. This is how we can have peace. Knowing that we know that we know that the Lord has the wisdom, knowledge, and words for us to succeed in all of our speakings. To people, to Him, to anyone or anything. In any arena. In person or remotely. We WILL have what we need to say. Without fear being able to raise its head over the confidence and faith we have in the Lord and what He says. And when they are HIS words, they are always the RIGHT words (Isaiah 54:17).

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: John 15:16

We are not stationary creatures. We are lovingly called sheep, not statues. Even Peter was re-named the pebble, not the boulder. Pebbles skip beautifully on the water, don’t they? Even his name speaks of motion. Naturally with all that motion, it is only a matter of time before we leave our beloved ruts. Our comfort places. Only a matter of time before we are called to go where we wouldn’t, speak to whom we’d ignore, and call out what we’d keep to ourselves. When those times arrive, there are two very important things to remember. First, God isn’t going to force you. He gave you free will. It is YOUR choice. Stomp down that fear that is trying to rise up as it tells you God is going to throw you out there exposed and alone. Kill the fear with all the Word telling you God loves you, cares for you, strengthens you, and protects you. He isn’t going to toss you under the bus. Second, He CHOSE YOU. You didn’t come to the cross, He called you to the cross. None of us are here by accident, but by the actions of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They – God – did all they could and here you are. If He is calling you somewhere new, be assured that He has equipped you, empowered you, and will care for you. Never fear leaving your comfort zone. Jesus lives in you, the Holy Spirit dwells in you, and the Lord NEVER, EVER, EVER leaves you. You are NOT going it alone. He loves you, He called you, He will continue to call you, and won’t abandon you. Walk with peace into what He calls you into. It will be unlike what you know, but it will be fulfilling because obedience is ALWAYS rewarding. It’s our chance to give back some of the love that the Lord showers on us.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.