Each week, my students in Public Speaking at Azusa Pacific Online University respond to a prompt relating to the challenges of speaking in public. Their thoughts on the topic of confidence prompted these thoughts. All of us face the cloud of failure, real or imagined, that strips our confidence when we speak. I want to thank each of my students for their candor in this discussion. I am confident that God will use this diverse group for His glory.
When it comes to confidence,
I believe each of us could share a story that would explain why we struggle
with confidence when speaking. This is especially true when it comes to sharing
our faith with others. It may be that you found yourself stumbling over words
as you tried to share your faith with a coworker or maybe you chose to stay
silent when the opportunity was there to speak. Some of us have felt the waves
of guilt when we have failed. Do not let the weight of your failure overwhelm
you. We can learn from each experience in our lives. God is not dependent on
our perfection to accomplish His purpose. Consider these examples of failure:
And I, brethren, when I came
to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you
the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much
trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of
human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith
should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
(I Corinthians 2:1-5)
(I Corinthians 2:1-5)
