Being shackled by expectations was another morsel in this sermon on Sunday that gave me a good visual too. Am I so worried about what other people think of me that I am not truly serving God in the best way possible? Yes, it is true. I am not trying to win the approval of God, but the approval of man. I am ashamed and will be everyday asking the Holy Spirit for his help to let go of wanting to get people's approval and focus only on making God proud of me. Paul says it well in Galations 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Chist. Step number two will be to pray everyday for my faith to rule over my actions and let go of the fears that keep me from being the servant of Christ I want to be. I especially like this quote said by who knows who? "Courage is fear that has said it's prayers."
We will encounter rejection, suffering and misunderstanding said Pastor Singleton. It's not something anyone wants to encounter but it is a truth and it should not be a deterent to taking action for Christ. Another quote I found speaks well of this idea of using action to conquer fear, "Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to couquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." Dale Carnegie.
I read an article on-line about the steps to conquering the fear of rejection. The method was simple, just go out and face that fear and do it. Let it be your goal to be rejected 10 times and you will find that the more you just do it, the easier it gets. It may take the 10 "no's" to encounter the "yes" and it is always worth getting the "yes". The third dose of medicine to heal us from this disease to please is to take action.
So, I put all this into a faithbooking layout and starting contemplating the photos I would use. I started looking through some photos already printed I had lying around just to do some photo placement on the design and came across the perfect photos. These are photos of myself taken back in the late 80's that I put into my hope chest because I didn't want to show anyone. They have been there all these years and I pulled them out recently and my hubbie saw them for the first time. Again I have been self-conscious about what others will think and I knew that my first action in conquering my fear of this is to put them in my faithbook page and display it. It wasn't any coincidence that the color I am wearing in the photos goes with the faithbook design colors. Thank you Lord for bringing me this lesson and leading me to use these photos. It feels good to be free of the fear! I will continue to take my meds to help me overcome my fears. Are you in need of some medicine too?
Proverbs 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
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