“I would love to share my faith, and I will as soon as God makes it a bit easier.” I wouldn’t claim this as my intention, but it’s certainly what I’ve lived out repeatedly. I’ll feel the prompting of the Spirit, I’ll see the opportunity, I start shaking as I run through every negative scenario that could unfold, and ultimately, I’ll talk myself out of it.
Fear is an obstacle. He knows it’s a natural response to challenging situations, but despite that, He tells us to ‘fear not.’ Don’t let the fear make the decision.
Sharing your faith may not be glamorous. Like any skill, it takes practice, patience, and humility to develop. It’s uncomfortable, and often the timing doesn’t feel right. If God wanted me to do this, He would ease my nerves, right? But God doesn’t want to make everything easy for us. He expects us to work hard, despite our obstacles. Fear is an obstacle. He knows it’s a natural response to challenging situations, but despite that, He tells us to ‘fear not.’ Don’t let the fear make the decision. Take a deep breath and listen to what He’s really asking you to do.
But how do you start overcoming the fear?
I’d recommend writing out a few sentences about your faith and memorizing them. Better yet, memorize a few passages of scripture. Get comfortable with just that much.
Pray for God to send people your way (He’s always looking for new evangelists), and pray for the wisdom to answer any questions you might be asked.
Read your Bible daily. If you want to become comfortable sharing the Word of God, you should become familiar with it.
Have you done all that and still feel like you’re not ready for this? How many more books on evangelism do you need to read before you’re ready? How many more YouTube apologists do you need to binge before you finally have all the answers? Study is fine, but God isn’t telling you to teach 2,000 years of theology to the barista. What has God done in your life? Who is Jesus? Take it down to a practical level. Let yourself give simple answers; don’t get hung up because you stuttered. You can spend hours talking about sports, movies, or (insert topic), so why is talking about Jesus so difficult? The way I see it, I should be just as comfortable talking about Jesus as I am talking about anything else, and when I can’t overcome that fear, I feel a deep shame. That is precisely what the enemy wants. His goal is for you to stay stagnant, always waiting for the right opportunity but never finding it. Don’t listen to him. Fight against the enemy with prayer and scripture. Meditate on God’s promises to you. Remember that God comforts those who put their trust in Him.
Here are a few verses that might help you through the fear:
Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 56:3, Philippians 4:6, John 14:27, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 John 4:18, Psalm 94:19, Isaiah 43:1, Proverbs 12:25, Psalm 23:4, Joshua 1:9, Matthew 6:34, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Isaiah 35:4, Luke 12:22-26, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 55:22, Mark 6:50, Deuteronomy 31:6.
