The YWAM DTS: Whom Then Shall I Fear?
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Hey everybody! This is a student from our July DTS. Her name is Morgan and she likes to write. So we asked her to share some of the things that God has been speaking to her about in her first few weeks of DTS!
There’s a theme that keeps popping up here at YWAM Mazatlan and on my YWAM DTS. It’s referred to as the “fear of man.” Growing up as an incredibly shy child and teenager, I can relate to this theme. A lot. After years of praying to be “comfortable in my own skin,” and after branching out in friendships in college, I lost much of the timidity I initially had around people. This being said, I’ve been plagued throughout my life with the fear of man, and have constantly pondered the judgment and approval other people hold over me. I have consistently asked myself these types of questions: “If I do this, what will those people think of me?” “If I wear this, will I fit in?” “If I try hard enough, will they like me?” “Am I too young? Too inexperienced?” “If I say this, will they think I’m stupid? Intelligent? Insane?” “Am I worthy of friendship? Of fellowship? Of being liked? Of being loved?” The list goes on… but the questions come from the same root.
It feels very natural to base everything about ourselves off the judgment and thoughts of others.
It’s become SO EASY to seek approval in the eyes’ of humans, and to completely base our self worth around this. God has been speaking against this theme with me so much lately. He has revealed verses like Psalm 118:8 “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” Or Jeremiah 17:5 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.” I mean, how powerful are those verses, and how direct!? Now, I’m in no way saying that humans are bad and you should never put your confidence and hope in them. I disagree with that, however, they should NEVER define who you are. Only God declares exactly who you are. He created you, and He is the one who has declared you WORTHY of His Kingdom. He is the only Creator, Judge, and Savior. He is the only God, and He so longs for us to turn to Him.
I’m beyond ready to put aside concerns over what others might think, and be open to what God has to say to me and about me. Evangelism is a challenging area, and it causes me to step out of my comfort zone in extreme ways. I have honestly felt ridiculous in the past about the idea of stepping out and telling others things I thought God revealed about them, or asking them if I could pray for them. When I first got to Mazatlan, I didn’t feel like I’d ever be able to do those things without feeling absurd. I was wrong. God has been working on my heart all year about the theme of boldness. He has taught me so much about the beauty of being bold for Him. He has truly brought this teaching to fruition over these past couple weeks in Mazatlan and has given me such peace in pushing myself to these uncomfortable places I’ve never been before. He has both given me prayers to pray over His people and given others words to pray over me. How beautiful is that? He has taught me that to not follow the direction of His voice can actually rob one of His children of the blessing of hearing what He wants to say to them in that moment.
He longs to use us as his instruments to love and shepherd His people towards Him.
The fact that He allows us to love and serve His people in these incredible and personal ways speaks so much about His humble, servant-like heart. There is truly no one like our God, and it is such a great desire of my heart to grow bolder and bolder in my praise and adoration of all that He is, and to put aside all fear of man. God calls us to be BOLD!
How is God asking you to be more bold? Maybe he wants you to ask one of your co-workers how you can pray for them? Maybe He wants you to share something with a friend? Or maybe he's asking you to step out and seek him in a more powerful way?
Want to know more about a YWAM DTS? Check out our link below. Who knows, it could be the first step to the adventure of a lifetime.
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