We all have fears. We all need to face them.
Now I’m not talking about phobias; like you can’t be in the same room as a daddy long leg spider or clowns really give you the hebejebes (Chucky creeps me out too!).
I am talking about facing FEAR.
- The fear of man.
- The fear of what people think.
- The fear of chasing your dreams.
- The fear of standing up for something you believe in.
If I am honest with you, this blog was one of my biggest fears. I have spent years putting it off. Literally like a decade! I was just so scared of what people might say about me. What happens if they laugh at me? What happens if someone makes a parody video of me and I look like a real nigel. What happens if no one actually reads it (well except like my mum, oh yea!).
Not sure if you’ve noticed but the subject of “purity” is not exactly popular and runs against the grain of our sex-crazed culture.
I finally had to tell myself, “Sabrina, stop being such a wuss! You either live paralysed by man’s opinions or confident in God’s opinion of you. It’s time to be bold! You need to shine your light not so people will see you but they would find their way out of darkness.”
And so here I am. I got my brave on. Take my hand lets do it together.
(P.S I would still really appreciate no hate mail. Yea thanks, winky face)
Here are 3 reasons to take fear by the horns and kick it where it hurts:
1) We miss out!
Fear makes US miss out!
- If we never take risks we miss great ADVENTURES!
- If we don’t step outside of our comfort zones we miss huge GROWTH!
- If we never say hello to people we don’t already know we miss new FRIENDS!
- If we never close doors we miss new OPPORTUNITIES.
- If we don’t listen to His leading we miss His APPOINTMENTS.
- If we always play it safe we miss so much FUN!
Fear makes US miss out on so much life has for us. Stop letting it! Get your brave on girlfriend.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt
2) Others miss out!
It’s not just about you. Often times there is another person waiting on the other side of your courage. A while ago I had an experience that reminded me of this.
It was a Tuesday morning and as is my custom I was doing my groceries at Aldi with my two-year-old daughter. As we went through the checkout, the guy behind me (a pretty buff and rough Maori looking guy) had his card declined. He looked a little embarrassed and tried convincing the check out lady there was definitely money in there.
All of a sudden I had this thought, “go and pay for his groceries”.
I ignored the voice and told it to shut up! I continued packing my bags while trying to juggle my two year old who was grabbing for a lollipop.
The voice continued, “just go pay for his groceries”. Again I replied, “zip it”.
Finally I turned around and said, “hey, I hope this isn’t weird, but can I please pay for that”.
The lady at the checkout smiled and politely took my money leaving the man standing there in disbelief. He was absolutely shocked that a stranger would show him such kindness.
He kept shaking his head muttering “Are you serious? Are you sure”?
I replied repeatedly, “yep totally fine. I want too.” I told him it was nothing and just wanted to show him God cared about him and loved him.
Tears rolled down his face as he explained how he was a single dad and the last few months had been really tough. Those simple words “that God cared about him” meant the absolute world. Now this isn’t some kind of humble brag, I’m just such a good person (because trust me most of the time I am not!) It simply shows how OTHERS are actually greatly impacted when we overcome the voice of fear in our head and GET BRAVE!
So Be kind. Show love. Take the job. Make the investment. Start the business. Sing the song. Open your heart and let others in.
Lastly.
3) It’s where God lives
When you get outside of your comfort zone, you’ll find GOD there.
Time and time again God has asked people to step out of who they are and step into everything HE IS. We see it when:
- David killed a giant.
- Moses parted an ocean.
- Esther saved her nation.
- Samson annihilated a building.
- Daniel slept next to lions.
- Peter walked on water.
Outside of US, we find Him.
So go for it you good thing! Get your BRAVE ON.
Sabrina Peters is wife to a good man, yummy mummy, avid writer, Jesus fan, Pastor & Psychology student. You can check out her blog here
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