How to Overcome Your Fear and Embrace Your Calling
Calling. Purpose. God’s will.
We use these terms to describe the meaning we are searching for in life. I think we all have a desire to do something important and meaningful, even if it’s not noticed by the whole world.
However, if you’re anything like me, it’s all too easy to not follow your calling because you’re just not sure if you heard God right. Or maybe you don’t understand what you are supposed to be doing.
A few months ago, I attended an event at my alma mater and ran into a former professor who asked me what I’m doing now. As has been the case in the past, I struggled for a response. I didn’t share that I am now a life coach and time management consultant. I just told him about my part time job at my church and a little bit about my writing.
It has been difficult embracing my calling of helping women through life coaching and time management consulting. I’ve thought a lot about this reluctance to share and have come up with a few reasons that explain why.
- Feeling inadequate-I don’t have a college degree in either of these areas. I just have a couple of certifications. I’m plagued with thoughts of “What if I don’t know enough?” and “Will people really want to work with me?”
- Feeling incompetent-I sometimes struggle managing my own time well. So how can I help others?
- Feeling fearful-What if I do all this work, put myself out there, and then no one hires me to help them out?
- Feeling uncertain-Is this really how God wants me to help women?
After thinking through these reasons, I decided I needed to figure out what I really wanted out of life. Did I really want to waste another year of my life floundering around in uncertainty? Or, did I want to buckle down and do what it takes to embrace the calling God has placed on my life?
Thankfully, God led me to a place of accepting my calling and reminded me of a couple of verses that have helped me to move forward.
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:6-7
In these verses we see that God has given us gifts to serve Him and others. Because our gifts and callings are from God, He does not give us a spirit of fear. On the contrary, He gives us what we need to live out our callings.
1. The spirit of power
The word power in verse 7 is translated as special miraculous power. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. When God places a calling on our life, He gives us the power needed to see it through. And He gives it to all equally. We just need to tap into this power by remaining in fellowship with God through prayer and Bible study.
2. The spirit of love
God’s love lives in us if we belong to Him through a relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. The love mentioned here is the same that is found in the fruit of the spirit in Galatians. Having this love drives out any fear we may have in fulfilling our callings.
3. The spirit of self-control
Because of the spirit of power and love given to us by God, we can exercise self-control. This means we have the power to say no to fear and embrace our callings. We have some control over how are callings are lived out. With proper motivation, discipline, and obedience we can live out our callings.
What is holding you back from embracing your calling?