Have any of you ever felt a sense of apprehension or nervousness when approaching people?
I can testify that I have (and do) quite often.
Many people are familiar with shyness. One of the biggest first decisions of my life was originally hindered by being shy.
In early high school, I was young and in love with my now fiance, Hallie. We had hung out, we were great friends, and I wanted to commence the next big thing.
So I decided in my mind that after math class one day I would ask her to meet me outside and I was going to ask her on a date.
So in math class, I said, “Hey, will you meet me outside after class?” And she said, “Sure!”
When the bell rang, I rushed out of class to wait for her. But then as I stood there waiting for her to come out, my anxiety overcame me. I ran around the corner and watched from there as she came out of the room confused.
I repeated this process for an entire week.
How embarrassing…
Saying this, I would like to tell you that I finally “manned up” and asked Hallie. But,
I didn’t.
She eventually grabbed me and forced me to face my fear of rejection. The question is though,
“What if she didn’t?”
My shy nature could have radically altered my life and the Godly relationship that was to be. But this Godly woman had something that was still developing in me.
A non-anxious spirit of love, power, and of a sound mound (2 Timothy 1:7).
The believers walk has some uncanny similarities to my story of young, blossoming love.
God did not set in us a spirit of fear that shys away from opportunities to be an effective minister. Justified and sanctified by Jesus Christ, we can be unashamed to carry the Gospel to the unbeliever.
Paul states in Romans 1:16 that this is our power! He proclaims in himself that,
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
With the Gospel as the power of God unto salvation, we should and can boldly live our life with Christ’s finished work as our mantra. Do not miss out on opportunities to proclaim this wonderful truth.
Shyness can have endless consequences, good and bad. So let’s get to it!
So beautiful. This made my day. Thank you!
I am so glad!