Bible Heroes Who Didn't Always Share Jesus Without Fear By Aleena Denison At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

I have struggled for years with the idea that I should be sharing Jesus without fear. I thought that if I was afraid, I must not be following God's will and something in my relationship with Him was terribly wrong. Many people counseled me to try different approaches, but nothing seemed to help. True, there were times when I wasn't afraid, but they were special circumstances where I felt most comfortable, and mostly involved people I knew. But get me out and talking to a stranger and I felt I'd like to turn into a tortoise and close myself up in my shell. I was excited to share about Jesus, but the fear of talking to people was nearly overwhelming. Some people have a specific calling in the area of evangelism, yet I knew that all believers were commanded to share Jesus. I'd asked God over and over why I couldn't be one of the ones who fearlessly went out to talk about Him, and recently, He showed me something very interesting-- even some of the men we read about in the pages of the Bible didn't always go out fearlessly to share their faith!

• Moses (Exodus 3:1-4:16)
This man actually argued with God about his being sent to talk to Pharaoh about letting God's people go. And it wasn't just once that he argued with God's command. For a chapter and a half, even after God showed him amazing signs that He would be with him, Moses put up a fight, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt," "If I go…what should I tell them?" "What if they won't believe me and will not obey me?" "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent- either in the past or recently since You have been speaking to Your servant," "Please, Lord, send someone else." And still God said go. God used Moses, despite his fear!

• Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4-9)
When God told Jeremiah that he had been chosen since before he was even born to be a prophet, Jeremiah responded, "Oh no, Lord GOD! Look, I don't know how to speak since I am only a youth." God told him not to be afraid because He would put the words into Jeremiah's mouth. Although nothing more was said about Jeremiah's fear, I can imagine that at least for the beginning of his ministry he was a bit afraid, especially since he'd never done any prophesying before.

• Paul (I Corinthians 2:3)
Paul, the great Apostle, was afraid. And what is interesting to note is that when he visited Corinth he had already been on one missionary journey and was well into his second, yet he tells the Corinthians in his letter, "And I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling." This, for me, was probably the most exciting discovery of those in the Bible who had fear. I always looked at Paul as the man who was nearly perfect, not ever afraid, and one to whom I couldn't relate. Not anymore! To see how God used Paul in such a mighty way despite his fear made me realize that I don't have to go out without fear, as long as I go with the strength of the Lord who is to be feared.

• Timothy (I Corinthians 16:10; I Timothy 4:12-15; II Timothy 1:6-8)
In studying the life of Timothy, one often sees his fear. He appeared to be a rather timid fellow, and Paul told the Corinthians to be kind to him because of that timidity. When Paul wrote the letters to him, they had already been through much together with Paul teaching his young son in the faith. And yet, in those letters, Paul reminded him that he didn't need to be afraid, and not to leave what he had been called to, despite his fears.

I hope this encourages you, as it has me. Keep going, don't let fear keep you from the ministry God has called you to, and when He accomplishes great things through you, all glory must go to Him!

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