What would you do?

I've been listenning to some of Erwin McManus' podcasted sermons today while I'm preparing a display for our ministry fair (basically cutting and gluing). Several of them are from his Chasing Daylight series, which is also a book by that same title that was just released (and released a few years ago as Seizing Your Divine Moment). As he talked about Jonathan going out to do battle with the Philistines, knowing that the outcome was uncertain, he asks a great question that I needed to be reminded of:

"If you were afraid of nothing, what would you be doing?"

Fear shackles people into jobs they hate, relationships that degrade them, and patterns of living that actually suck life away. But what if we didn't fear being alone? What if we didn't fear the pain that comes when we're not numb? What if we weren't afraid of not making ends meet?

It's staggering how much of our lives can be motivated by fear, if we allow it to be. I've always dealt with a fear that people wouldn't like me. The last few weeks I've been thinking about how the fear of failure has marked my actions. I was always a good student. Things came easily for me in school. Other things in life have come easily for me as well. But I know that waiting for me somewhere around the corner of a choice is failure. I will fail. I know it. I know that it's coming... and I fear it.

But, what if I didn't?

What if I trusted God to build me through whatever failure may lurk ahead, enough to break the patterns of ease? The natural ability that God has given me has gotten me to a comfortable place in life and ministry... but where will the supernatural courage of initiative take me as I cast aside the fear that I won't be up to the task/good enough/strong enough?

I hope to find out.

But what about you? What do you fear? What uncertainties hold you back?

"If you were afraid of nothing, what would you be doing?"