Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Out of the Bondage of Fear

For much of my life I have been shackled to fear....fear of meeting new people, fear of new situations, fear of the unknown.  That has resulted in my being an introvert who is painfully shy.   When I was much younger,  I feared meeting new people and taking risks.  In college I somewhat grew out of that, but I remained painfully shy.  There are ghosts associated with that, of course---ghosts that shall remain just that---at least for now.

People who know me now can not believe it when I tell them I am an introvert or how shy I actually am.  That is because I am basically two people.  At work, I am a take-charge person who is competitive and doesn't tolerate foolishness.  This stems from my self-confidence with my profession; I am good at what I do---not perfect---but good, highly competent and highly qualified.

Outside of work, I am the introvert who struggles around others.  God is helping me in that area, though.  I believe He is leading me to focus on this area this year as I start a new venture and branch out to seek to be more like Him.   Because in being more like Him, I must overcome fear.

These verses encouraging courage are going to be my touchstone:

       John 14:27:  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as
                              the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be
                              afraid."

       Psalm 27:1:  "The Lord is my light and my salvation---whom shall I fear?  The Lord
                             is the stronghold of my life---of whom shall I be afraid?"

       Isaiah 41:13:  "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and
                              says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'"

And my favorite:            2 Timothy 1:7:  "For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness;
                               but of power and love and discipline."