The Fear of Looking Foolish

Countless things in this world influence us everyday. However, there is one thing we let rule our lives more than we know: fear. It doesn’t take long to come up with a few examples.

Hey, why don’t you apply for that job? . . . I’m not sure I could get it.
Fear of inadequacy.

Why not try out for that part in the play? . . . I’m not sure I want that much attention.
Fear of scrutiny.

How about that girl? . . . I don’t know, she’ll probably say no.
Fear of rejection.

All too often it seems, we don’t even try for the good things waiting for us because we might fail. Then, if we try and do fail, we question ourselves for trying. WHY do we do this? Are we that insecure about ourselves? Maybe. Well, then maybe we ought to stop and ask: “Who am I listening to?”

The devil will tell us we can’t. He will try to convince us that we are powerless.

The LORD will tell us that we can because He will help.

We should also keep in mind that leaning on the LORD is not a weak posture; it’s knowing where our strength comes from.

Psalm 28:7 says “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

It says not only that is the LORD “my strength” but He is “my shield,” i.e. He is looking out for you. This is why we can trust Him.

I will be the first to tell you that any given opportunity will not necessarily yield the outcome you expect. It won’t. Even if you think that God would desire a favorable result in a certain experience, your success in any specific endeavor is never guaranteed.

However, there is something that we can be absolutely certain of.

God’s plan for each one of us is immensely bigger and better than anything we could plan or imagine for ourselves, for you and for me and “so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

Therefore, we ought to give thanks for every opportunity, even those in which we fail.

The Beauty of a Closed Door

I’ve faced rejection in many ways: professionally, artistically, and romantically. It’s brutal. But every single time there was something waiting that I didn’t foresee. It always has to do with growth. And at every closed door is God saying: “That isn’t what you are meant for.”

Did you hear that?! You are meant for something. This is why we try. God will not force us to accept our perfect roles. We may not even know what those roles are. Therefore we must act. We must ask ourselves: What captures my heart most? What makes me feel fulfilled? What comes as a free choice?

Once you choose to act, God will bless you. Period. He may bless you by granting you your desires or not. But both answers are gifts. He is our strength and our shield. He shields us from some opportunities that we might consider advantageous for His own good reasons. However, He also gives us the strength to try and try and try. This is easier to see in retrospect.

Try, try again.

Certainly, your role in life will change. Perhaps it will change more than it stays the same.

Why? Because in order to grow, we have to go outside our comfort zones.

No one should ever be afraid of trying for fear of looking foolish. David’s path to becoming king included looking like a fool when he showed up to fight Goliath. Nothing worth having comes without some kind of output (and usually some degree of initial failure).

He will let you know one way or another if what you are doing is meant to be. Until then, we’d be fools to quit.