"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
I spent the better part of the last twenty years making life decisions based on fear. I was always making safe choices, never challenging myself and ignoring that still small voice inside. You know the one, the voice that also says God made you for greatness. I pretty much ignored that voice all together in my younger years. I ignored it when I limited my college choices to small schools for the fear of being lost at a state university. I ignored it when I quit running in college because the fear of not being on top scared me stiff. I ignored it when I should have walked away from an unhealthy relationship. I did it again when I walked away from an opportunity to study in Scotland for the fear of being too far from home. I ignored it when I wanted to apply to Law school but the fear of not being smart enough stopped me and I ignored it when I took a job outside my field for the fear of not pleasing others. Fear can be a crippling and life changing illness.
I became the master at ignoring that voice so much so that after a while I did not hear it anymore. I had allowed myself to believe that my decisions were not based on fear but that they all had great reasoning. Looking back always gives us perspective and the ability to be honest enough with ourselves to say “give it up and be real already!” It took a tragedy in my life to bring me out of the depths of living a life of paralyzing fear. It took a while, a long while mind you, but during that time the only thing I held onto was that voice inside of me saying “I will not forsake you.”
Are you in the midst of making some major life choices? Are you living a life filled with fear? If so, I pray that you too will hear that voice saying “I will not forsake you.”
We may continue to close doors in our lives even when we know that God is calling us there. Some of those closed doors will be done out of fear. After all, we are human and have so much to learn in this journey. Take comfort in knowing that God made us for a purpose and he blesses us by opening new doors every time we shut one ourselves. It took me more years than I want to admit to get there and to begin looking for those doors that God was opening my life. I am still working at slowing down enough to hear that still small voice. Mostly, God still has to speak very loudly to get my attention and you may feel that way too. I believe that for those of us that cannot quiet our minds and hearts long enough to hear that voice we will be met right where we are at so we can hear it loud and clear. Take comfort knowing that God will not forsake you. I challenge you to live out Joshua 1:9. Go be great today and have the courage to live outside your comfort zone.
