Over the past years, I have had the opportunity to visit a number of churches and share of the work the Lord has called us to do. Sometimes I feel like there is a misconception that a Business as Mission people are superhuman…the reality is that we are human! As part of our humanity, we have fears – phobia!
The fear of failure
One fear that you may face during your life as a Business as Mission is the fear of failure. What happens if my business fails and I have to go home? What happens if no one listens to me and the gospel is rejected? None of us like to fail! One thing that has helped me over the years is to remember that we have been called to a life of obedience not results.
We are asked to throw seeds but the Lord is the one who makes them grow.
The fear of others
Another very common fear is the fear of others. What are they going to think of me? If I do this, what will my team members think of me? If my kids do that, what will my church back home think of me? We do need to be careful not to offend others or go against authority, however, so often we are too hindered by what we think others think about us.
We need to realize that our obedience is to Christ and we must obey what he calls us to do…no matter what others will say.
The fear of danger
A common question we are asked while living in an Arab country is: Are you afraid for your family’s safety? Danger is a scary thing and none of us would choose to live a life in danger UNLESS the Lord has specifically called us to that. Yes, horrible things happen to the servants of the Lord!
The key to me is that if we are walking according to the Spirit and HE has called us to this place, we know that he is watching out for us.
We might go through some scary things, but we know HE is able to sustain us.