Skip to content
Prayer Coach Prayer Coach : worldview : view of self : Do We Fear Who We Can Become?

Do We Fear Who We Can Become?

    I marked this daily reading from John Eldredge’s as something I wanted to share. With the last two posts on fear (Jesus not having fear and We are not to be afraid), I thought this would be a nice place to add this angle on fear. Fear can come in many ways, and as Eldredge himself admits here, this is not one we typically think. Enjoy


    Ransomed Heart Daily Newsletter Banner

    Embracing the Glory
    4/10/2011

    Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us . . . And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. (Marianne Williamson)

    When I first read this quote, I thought, No, that’s not true. We don’t fear our glory. We fear we are not glorious at all. We fear that at bottom, we are going to be revealed as . . . disappointments. Mandela is just trying to make a nice speech, like a sermon, to buoy us up for a day or two. But as I thought about it more, I realized we do fear our glory. We fear even heading this direction because, for one thing, it seems prideful. Now pride is a bad thing, to be sure, but it’s not prideful to embrace the truth that you bear the image of God. Paul says it brings glory to God. We walk in humility because we know it is a glory bestowed. It reflects something of the Lord’s glory.

    (Waking the Dead , 87)

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *