Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — 4.1MB)
(as presented by Lisa Bishop)
Several years ago, 40 to be exact, my best friend and I wanted to be part of the 8th grade cheerleading squad. I had never done the splits, nor come close in my life, but we decided to practice and give it a shot. For several weeks we perfected our cartwheels and roundoffs. I remember inch by inch getting closer and closer to doing the splits as I looked in the wall of mirrors in my parent’s bedroom. I was trying to build my skill and my confidence as we prepared for tryouts.
Fast forward a few weeks and it was time to put our skills to the test. I distinctly remember walking into my middle school building and approaching the gymnasium with fear gripping me and butterflies in my stomach. Have you ever felt that? We got a few feet away from the door when we both looked at each other and in total fear and panic turned around and high tailed it the other way. We had lost our confidence and fear caused us to run. I never ended up trying out for cheerleading. I will never know if I could have made the cut but to this day I wonder what would have happened if I did not let fear of failure grip me. The fear of being rejected, not making the team, looking like a fool and what other people would think of me overruled my confidence to try.
It reminds me of when Noah built the arc. Now I am not saying that 8th grade cheerleading tryouts hold a candle to Noah building the arc, but stick with me here. We see Noah’s story in the book of Genesis. As God is preparing to bring judgment on the earth through a massive flood, he instructs Noah to build a huge boat when there is not even a drop of rain or a cloud in sight. Yet regardless of what he could not see, Noah obeyed God. He followed God’s instructions even when they did not make sense at the time. I can imagine the mocking and jeering that must have happened as Noah labored to build and obey God. He probably looked ridiculous. Yet, if Noah would have put his confidence in what other people thought of him, he never would have picked up that first piece of wood. Even though others probably thought he was crazy, he remained faithful. His confidence was not in what others thought about him but what in God instructed him to do.
When we put our confidence in the opinion of others, what people think about us, it will cause us to miss out. When we live our lives to avoid the feeling of rejection or in the mode of self-protection, we can forfeit a fulfilling future. When we give power to the opinions of others, we play small rather than stepping into obedience and a grand adventure with God.
Where are you putting your confidence in—the opinion of others and not in God?