How do we react when we’re afraid?
Fear is one of the biggest barriers to sharing your faith. We’re afraid to talk to people we don’t know. We’re afraid of how someone might respond to us. We’re afraid of saying the wrong thing or looking dumb.
According to experts, when we feel threatened and afraid, we instinctively react in one of three ways: fight, fight, or freeze. In other words, we become aggressive, we move away, or we shut down. None of those reactions are helpful for sharing your faith. So, how can we move past fear?
A bold example in scripture
In Acts 3-4, Peter and John were on their way to the temple in Jerusalem when they encountered a man who couldn’t walk. Sensing the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Peter healed the man. Everyone who witnessed the miracle was amazed, but the religious leaders who heard about the healing weren’t excited.
They arrested Peter and John and brought them into court. Everyone was shocked by what happened next. Instead of shrinking in fear, Peter spoke with boldness. Acts 4.8-11 NIV says, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healed.”
The Power of the Holy Spirit
How could they have been so bold? Verse 8 says that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. In that moment, it was the Holy Spirit who gave him the boldness to speak and the words to say. The religious leaders were stunned.
Acts 4.13 NIV reports their response: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Neither Peter nor John were as highly educated as the people who were interrogating them, but Peter and John had something that the court officials didn’t have: the power of the Holy Spirit that comes from a relationship with Jesus.
When you’re filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, you will speak boldly for Jesus. Throughout the book of Acts, boldness is connected with the presence of the Holy Spirit. When Peter and John were released from the court, they went back and prayed with the other believers. Acts 4.13 NIV says, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
Pray for Boldness
If you will be faithful to make your “Top Five List,” pray for your lost friends, and look for opportunities to move conversations toward Jesus, then the Holy Spirit will make you bold and give you the right words to say when the time is right.
This blog features an excerpt from one of our Student Series books, Reach Your World.
