Some years ago I read of a poll of Americans who were asked what their greatest fear was. To my surprize, number one on the list was “Public Speaking” and number two was “Death.” That meant that at a funeral, most people would rather actually be dead in the casket than having to give the eulogy!
What is it exactly that scares us about public speaking? I am sure there are many things we could think of in answer to that question. Its something each of us should ask ourselves.
I remember distinctly a February day in 1986. I had dreaded this day for about a month, ever since the day I saw my name posted on the Bible Seminary schedule for “Preaching Assignment.” Though I had preached numerous times before, this day was going to be different. Not only was I to preach for 20 minutes to my student peers, but this time, for the very first time, my preaching was to be recorded on video. More than that, for the hour that followed the preaching, I was to sit through the ordeal of watching myself preach on television.
What was it about that day I dreaded? I knew I was called to preach. I knew I had something of worth to say (because I was going to present the word of God). So what was it that terrified me so much?
The night before was spent in earnest prayer. I was almost sick to my stomach. I certainly did not feel I could eat any food. I sought to soothe my conscience by suggesting to myself that this was spiritual activity – I was seeking to be close to God by skipping a meal – fasting. But the truth was, I was only missing the evening meal because I was a nervous wreck. God did not have much to do with the whole thing.
When the moment came for me to preach, I sought refuge in the only place I knew… the grace of God. My prayer was that He would help me as never before. That He would come and help me with supernatural help from His throne.
Now you the reader must understand something. As a child I was incredibly shy. I hardly talked at all. One incident from my childhood illustrates this. My mother, visiting my kindergarten school after the first semester, met with my teacher to inquire as to how I was doing. The teacher’s exact words were, “well, Mrs. Samson, we think John is doing ok.”
My mother asked, “why do you only think he is doing ok?”
The teacher said, “well, John has not actually spoken yet!”
I don’t know if God looked down on that little boy all wrapped up in himself and thought it was a nice challenge for Him. During the rest of my childhood I did not talk very much at all; certainly I could not explain myself and my feelings. (In fact, I only seemed to express myself with my feet when I kicked a soccer ball!). Yet after the age of 15, when I knew God had called me to preach was I able to string sentences together to preach His message. I have no doubt that God chose that little boy to be saved and called him into the ministry to be His herald! There is no greater calling and honor in this world.
So back to the seminary in England… Continue reading
I am very thankful to God right now. Many of you have been praying for my friend Jim who died (for 18 minutes) back in June. The fact that he is even still alive is a miracle. He’s been living at my home gaining strength and gradually we have seen him take small steps on the road to recovery… until THIS AFTERNOON he was well enough to go back to work for the very first time since his massive heart attack. ALL GLORY TO THE LORD.