Once upon another time in Ecuador, classmates had a phobia of the little eight-legged reminders that evil has corrupted this world. In the safety of my own room, I gave the beasts a wide berth. But among my peers a bigger fear reigned: admitting weakness. So I feigned courage as the designated squasher when all the guys had gone off and every girl was arguing over who would check the rooms for creepy, crawling terrors.

On the other hand, those who already know me well enough to disbelieve my fake bravery are more accustomed to the sound of screaming and stomping in the shower when anything else moves in there. I’m not afraid of these people or what they think of me so I’m rather free to exhibit my fear of arachnids with full gusto.

My fear of spiders seems directly proportional to my fear of people’s thoughts of me.

But I’ve been learning fear is always proportional. How we measure our fears matters.

As a freelance writer, I work from home. Previously, my office was a little room with a sharply pitched roof and a solitary window. It was tacked on top of what was once a garage and the insulation was so lacking that at times it was warmer to walk in the snow or cooler to go sit out in the shade. Still, it was (mostly) charming.

Too often though, as I worked, I discovered spiders an inch from my nose. They bungee jumped from the ceiling and it seemed I was their target.

Because I work from home, I was usually alone when their escapades occured. Since my arachnophobia corresponds to my fear of other’s thoughts, that was a dilemma.

I had no one to call for immediate rescue.

I also had no one to prove myself to by faking bravery.

To decide between paralysis and action, I needed something new to measure my fear against.

The pickings were slim.

If I weighed my fear of spiders against my fear of missing deadlines, the competition was close. If I weighed my fear of valiantly relocating or crushing spiders against my fear of allowing them to run free, the answer was clear: they’d learned to parachute onto my head! There was no telling what more they might do!

The real secret to actionable courage, it seems, is finding a bigger fear.

“Fear of the Lord,” Proverbs 9:10 says, “is the beginning of wisdom.”

God backs up this claim.

When God called the Israelites to courage in the face of fearsome enemies, he offered no encouragement that they were strong enough or brave enough. Instead, God directed them to someone more fearsome than their enemies: himself. God’s response to our fears is the same.

He stands beside our fears and invites us to compare the proportions.

My tactic for courage in the face of eight-legged risks and two-legged threats has changed. I’m starting to measure them against the God I revere. Not surprisingly, God always proves mightier.

Fearing God makes other fears seem foolish.
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That proportionate perspective, to me, makes sizing up life’s spiders much less intimidating!

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Click for PDF: Get over it 03.10.15

Passage: Exodus 4:1-20

Key Verse: “The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” v.11

I could see my younger daughter muttering something under her breath as she stared at the beam in front of her. It was time for the frightful cartwheel on beam, part of her gymnastics routine. My heart skipped a beat. “Thank God I’m not a mother of boys,” I thought. Challenging sports are just not good for my heart.

Gravity scares this little gymnast. It’s almost an oxymoron, I know, since gymnastics is a gravity-defying sport. Yet, she loves it, even though her fear often stalls her progress. A couple of months ago, she was told that she didn’t make it to the competitive team in her gymnastics academy. As parents, my husband and I were concerned that the decision would make her retreat and give up gymnastics altogether. Instead, she gained new resolve. She understands her limitations, but she refuses to give in to fear. Instead, I watched her reciting the verse of scripture that I taught her, right before facing the dreadful beam:

“I can do all things through Christ. I can do all things through Christ.”

She is eight years old and already understands it: on her own, she isn’t able to overcome her fear. But through Christ’s strength, she can do all things.

I smile as I think about awful fears that I had to overcome in my journey with Christ. One of which was the fear of failure and rejection that haunted me when God called me to become a faith writer and speaker.

Yes, I can relate to Moses too well.

No, I haven’t been called to lead a nation out of slavery and into the Promised Land. Nor have I been called to do anything mighty for the Kingdom of God. Regardless, the moment I heard God calling me, a flood of excuses filled my heart…

“I’m not a writer…”

“I have never taught the Bible to adults before…”

 “What about my accent? What if they don’t understand me?”

“Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” V.10

And yet, God’s calling became increasingly louder, as each imperfection I quoted was met with His Sovereignty:

“Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Vs.11-12

Is it your work or Mine?

This is where we, Yahweh’s children, mess up, each time He calls us out of our comfort zone and into the beauty of His Kingdom’s work. We think it to be humility, but in reality, our hesitant attitude is veiled pride and lack of faith.

Doctors spend ten years or longer at medical school to be able to perform their work. Ballerinas and gymnasts work diligently, several times a week for many years in order to develop the skills that help them become great. Generals must study the enemy’s strategies in order to win wars.

So when it comes to Kingdom work, we have a tendency to believe that we need to be “qualified” to do His work.  Conversely, there are only two simple things that a child of God must do when He calls:

• Spend time with the Master Designer, whether in prayer or studying His Word
• Take one step of obedience at a time, all the while listening to His guidance.

Indeed, if God calls you to do anything in the Name of Jesus, you need to get over yourself.

Because you are completely right – You can’t do it. You are probably unprepared, inadequate and broken. You have possibly made many mistakes in life and Grace has brought you out of a mighty mess.  And yet – YES – it’s you He’s calling.

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27

Indeed, most of us are in a long list of broken and imperfect messes that God has called to change the world for Christ. When He walked on this earth, He loved to use the unwanted, the lowly and the broken: Fishermen, tax collectors, persecutors, and even prostitutes…

Lowly receivers of His Grace, who became mighty proclaimers of His Name. All they did was say Yes. Spend time with Him. And take one step at a time. The rest is history. His history, which He calls you and I to continue to write with Him.

So, go ahead, you can say it aloud: You’re not able.

You cannot accomplish the tasks He’s given you on your own strength. But that should not be an excuse not to move. Or to fight God, as Moses did, while repeatedly giving excuses to avoid blind obedience. Instead, do as I (finally) did… and as my little one did while facing that beam. Tell your fearful heart:

No, I’m not able. I’m not qualified. But He is.

With Him, I can do all things (Philippians 4:13).

Because His strength will be made perfect in my weakness. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

Defy gravity. Jump into His arms in abandoned trust.

Then watch the mighty things He’ll do in you… and through you.

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