Beneath Our Deepest Fears
It's been said that dreams reveal our subconscious: all the stuff we don't realize we're thinking. As a kid (and a few times as an adult) I would experience the terror of a recurring theme in my dreams. Something would happen and I would try to speak, only to realize nothing was coming out. I would try even to scream at the top of my lungs, to no avail. This would send me into a panic, trying to get someone to listen to me, and I would wake up in a cold sweat. I really had no clue what those dreams meant, I only knew that they terrified me.
I have discovered in my maturing, that I don't have a fear of speaking, as most people do. Some studies suggest that at 3 out of every 4 people fear public speaking more than death; which means at funeral most people would prefer to be in the box than behind the podium. This isn't my issue. My concern was not the speaking, I feared not being heard.
To be completely transparent, I still struggle with this notion. However, just about everything that I do, especially that which is connected to my purpose, is predicated on people listening to me. I operate in the gifts of teaching and pastoring, and church members are supposed to listen to their pastors, just like students are supposed to listen to their teachers. I've written blogs and books (with more books to write), and people are supposed to read them. I've produced 2 podcasts/radio shows, and the whole purpose is for people to listen. I've built my entire brand around building people up, through information and inspiration; and I and STILL afraid that I will not be heard.
Here is my point: your greatest potential may lay beneath your deepest fears. The very reason for which you were created, just may be connected to something that terrifies you to your core. What if God wanted to use you in a great and impactful way, in the very areas that you avoid?
One of the highest grossing movies a few years back was the remake make of the Stephen King classic, "IT": a story of a shape shifting monster that feeds off the fear in children. (SPOILER ALERT) The turning point in the movie was when the kids figured out that they didn't have to be afraid. They discovered that if they confronted their fears, the monster would retreat.
I submit that if you face your fears, the monsters of self-doubt, insecurity, and anxiety will retreat. They won't die. They're heads will pop up and try to shake you again, but if you confront them head on, they will retreat. What may be left, when those monsters are out of your way, could be your most meaningful gifts to the world.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." - 2 Timothy 1:7, New Living Translation
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