When I joined a branch church two years ago, I considered giving testimonies of healing at Wednesday services. I had always felt uncomfortable talking in front of more than two or three people, and resolved to overcome these feelings with prayer. Once I made this resolution, I found all sorts of help.
I read in Jeremiah: "Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth."
A testimony in a back issue of the Christian Science Sentinel caught my attention. A soldier who was ordered to lead his men onto an enemy-held beach overcame his fear when he understood that fear was an offense to God. Fear indicates belief in an evil power opposed to God, omnipotent good. Like the soldier, I didn't want to offend God. And if that soldier could overcome his fear of facing a beach where bullets were being fired at him, I could certainly face a congregation of loving people who had come, as I had, to express their love for God.
