am i fearful

     I learned something about my self last night. I went up to church like i do most Saturday nights. Brother Otis had been here for 3 hours waiting on me. For real that dude is always 15 minutes early to everything. And I of course like to be fashionably late. I went to the church to clean last night and I learned something about my self. I learned that I am a fearful person. How did I learn this well because brother Otis told me I was fearful. Man this guy doesn't know me at all. Then  he went on to say not only was I fearful, but I cared to much about what people think about me. At this point I was thinking well here we go brother Otis has been processed. He was all like why would you run just stand there and say in the name of Jesus if you want to, maybe you should been running a little more.
      Now if brother Otis tells me I'm a fearful person then I stop and look for fear. When I got home last night I got to thinking about me and fear. And I come up with 4 types of fear I believe everyone of us will fall into. 1 The fear of the unknown 2. The fear of failure 3 the fear of criticism, or rejection and 4 The fear of getting hurt
     First thing I think we should know about fear is that fear is a event not a person. But when we let fear become anxiety or worry then its a bad thing. Did you  know that Micheal Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team?  Or that he missed more than 9,000 shots, lost over three hundred games. He said that 26 different time he was entrusted to take the game winning shot And missed. But he knew how to keep rebounding and shooting again and again. He never gave up.  WE are creatures of habits how many of you parked in the same spot this morning when you got here.
      Think about the most important person in you life. Where did you meet. I doubt that they just walked up on your front porch holding a sign saying you're gonna marry me. I would of been like nope. I'm out. Most likely one of you was in a location or situation that was unfamiliar.
    Fear is a survival technique IF you out in the woods and you come up on a bear with razor sharp fangs and long pointy claws. Fear should kick in and say don't go up and try and pet the bear as a matter of fact Run!! The desire to win must be greater that the fear of failure. Proverbs 24:16 says For a righteous man falls 7 times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of disaster and collapse.
     We fear looking foolish in front of others. WE are afraid of  what they might think or say. Most the time the people that are criticizing you are usually people who have fallen short of their on goals in life. They use to dream but now they live safely in predictable average lives because they fail once.
     If you have set goals worth pursuing you will not reach them without a few bumps. You will be knocked off your feet and you will feel real pain. But that never gives you a reason to give up.
     I heard someone say once "Don't be afraid of your fears they're not there to scare you They're there to let you know its worth it. So whats you biggest fear Do you fear the unknown, failure, criticism or rejection. Maybe you have a fear of getting hurt.
   when your walking in what God's purpose for your life. Don't expect it to be easy. Expect it to be a battle  that's both difficult and lengthy. Expect opposition, expect criticism. And don't let it deter or  you. Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will succeed
Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear anything for i am with you I will certainly take hold of you with my righteous hand. and that hand hols Justice, all the power of victory, and salvation. The greater the call the more difficult the journey