Potty Prayers

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. — 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

When I wrote the post the other day entitled “Fear of ____” my mind was literally racing with all kinds of things that I’m afraid of — fear of failing (what if I think I can write and I really can’t?); fear of sharing my faith with others (what if they don’t believe what I believe?); fear of having friends over for dinner (yeah, right! my house is a mess!).

When I really started looking at all of these fears, I realized they all boil down to just 1 fear — the fear of what others think. Who decides whether or not I can really write? There will always be people who don’t like what I write. What happens when others don’t believe what I believe? Nothing. I keep on loving them and sharing with them as God leads me. After all, they aren’t rejecting me, they’re rejecting God. What happens if I have friends over and there are toys all over the den floor? My friends might just see how much I love my daughter and spend more time with her than I do cleaning everything to perfection.

Seriously take a minute and look at your fear(s). How many of them can essentially be reduced to worrying about what others think? We need to be more worried about what God thinks about what we are doing than what others think. God thinks I can write, so I write. I don’t have a clue who’s going to read it or the lives it will touch, but that’s in God’s control — not mine. God thinks I should tell others what great and wonderful things He’s done for me. God thinks I should reach out to my friends — especially the ones who don’t believe like I do — because they are hurting and need support.

So what are your fears?

Prayer: Lord, please help me to realize I don’t need to be concerned with what others think. Help me to only be concerned with what You think. Lord I want to fit in so badly that sometimes it doesn’t matter what I fit into. Help me to know without a doubt that I fit into Your family — that I am a child of God. Help me not to have a spirit of cowardice or fear. Give me strength to accomplish the things You think are important.