When Paul wrote to a young Timothy, assigned to look after the Church in Ephesus, he constantly exhorted him to fight timidity & stand in courage (2 Timothy 1:7, 1 Timothy 4:12). If Satan can cripple young leaders with a fear of failure, a sense of unattainable expectation or an inner weakness that terminates in their own ability then the forward advance of the gospel in our cities, towns & villages will be seriously threatened. Every person who accomplished something significant for God in scripture was weak & yet characterised by courage.
It takes courage to tell someone the gospel. It takes courage to love the poor. It takes courage to speak a loving word of rebuke over a wayward soul. It takes courage to rouse a sleepy congregation to spiritual zeal. It takes courage to take new ground in Church planting, in evangelism, in justice & in prayer. Timidity keeps young leaders from being the men & women God has called them to be.
And so, the clarion call to leaders young (and, indeed, old) is the words of 2 Timothy 1:7 - "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self control". Fight timidity, says Paul, by recognising who you truly are. God has saved us for more than a cowering fear that keeps us from risking all in outrageous courage for the kingdom of heaven. He, in His Son, has given to us a new Spirit - the Holy Spirit - who births in us the strength to battle the fears that keep us bound & empowers us to make a difference with our lives for the glory of Christ.
This new Spirit that we've received accomplishes this through giving to us new characteristics. As children of a loving, all-sufficient Father who has made us safe in His Son we are to be a people of power, love & self control. These characteristics of the Holy Spirit directly counter those of humanities proneness to timidity.
Timidity cripples risk & cultivates fear. Power stirs up faith & releases courage.
Timidity turns us inward & grows pride. Love turns us outward & creates humility.
Timidity leaves us unable to deal effectively with confrontation & conflict because it either makes us power-hungry, crushing those we are pastorally dealing with or it makes us love-shy, avoiding those we are meant to be confronting. Self-control enables us to harness power & channel love into speaking the truth to people boldly & with confidence in God.
We can be courageous. We do not need to be defined by timidity. We can have courage to innovate for the kingdom. We can have courage to seek God with all our beings. We can have courage to lead people well - in power & love. We can have courage to dream dreams of the forward advance of the gospel in our generation because we understand who we are.
