Fear, The Great Identity Stealer

I find, in my own life and in the lives of others I talk to, there's one thing, more than anything else, that keeps us from living out who we really are. Fear, The Great Identity Stealer.

What if I try and it doesn't work? What if I fail? Most of us have been raised with such a performance orientation that we're deceived into thinking that failure's bad. But failure is not sin. And in the Kingdom of God, not only is it a prerequisite, it has another name – Experience.

God has a track record of calling people to things bigger than themselves that are totally impossible and won't work, at least not by human standards or human effort alone.

• A guy who stutters, Moses, to talk one-on-one to the most powerful leader in the world and demand he release a million slaves.
• A cowering farmer (Gideon) to be a warrior and deliver Israel.
• A shepherd boy, David, to be king of Israel.
• A peasant girl (Mary) to be the mother of the Messiah.
• An uneducated fisherman, Peter, to be the apostle to the Jews, who respected learning and education.
• An educated Pharisee, Paul, who hated Christianity and was trying to destroy it, to be the apostle to the Gentiles (who couldn't care less about the Jewish law), and to write more books in the New Testament than any other writer.
• Me, a software engineer of 25+ years, to write a book about emotions (Mixed Emotions), and transition to a Christian author and speaker.
• You, to do that thing that makes your heart leap.

I love the stories, like Moses and Gideon, where people argue with God about their calling. God never disagrees with them about their excuses; he just totally ignores them. “Nevertheless,” he says, “I will be with you.” Translation: “Come on, it'll be fun. You'll like it. Eventually.” And suddenly the impossible works out.

See, God's called you to do something you can't do without him because he wants to partner with you to get it done. So if God's our partner, what are we afraid of?

When I wrote my book, Mixed Emotions, I was tremendously afraid it would be a flop. I didn't want to risk being a failure. But then I thought, you know, I know what it looks like if I don't do this. I've been doing that for 25 years. But I don't know what it looks like if I do try this. And there's only one way to find out. So I followed my heart and took the leap, and we'll see where it goes. I'm learning by successes and failures along the way what works and what doesn't. I'm still finding out what it looks like. But I'm loving the adventure.

How about you? What makes your heart leap? If you were, theoretically, to do that thing, what would the first step be? Think it out, plan it out, and then take the leap. Try it. See what it looks like. If it fails, learn from the experience and try again, wiser this time. The Lord your God is with you.