By F. D. Adkins
I have an extreme phobia of public speaking and have spent my life avoiding any circumstance that might require me to talk in front of a group of people. Even as a child in school, I was soft-spoken and shy, spending the day hoping not to be called on by the teacher. For some reason, I have always been self-conscious about the sound of my voice.
Yet, in the past year or so, I have been invited to be a guest on several podcasts. As badly as I wanted to run in the other direction, I knew the way that the opportunities came about, that these opportunities were from God. The pull on my heart to share my writing testimony was a battle within myself because as afraid as I was to speak on camera, I knew God wanted me to. And if God had provided me an opportunity to share about Him, I had to face my fear and do it. If Jesus gave His life for me, how could I not use an opportunity that HE had placed right in front of me.
My fear of public speaking is a weakness, a weakness the enemy wants to use against me. However, in Joshua 1:9, God commands us to be strong and courageous. But how can I be strong and courageous when I am so afraid that my stomach twists in a knot, my heart beats so hard that it is leaping from my chest, my voice quivers, and my mouth is so dry that I feel like I am going to choke. Well, the answer to that is in Joshua 1:9 too. We can be strong, courageous, and fearless because God is always with us.
“Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9 KJV
