Afraid of Speaking in Public? - A Heart Set Free Journal

It’s Public Enemy Number One! Speaking in public is the number one fear of Americans. I read this once while I was 30,000 feet high in the claustrophobic tube of a big jet hurtling across the sky. The airline magazine was only too happy to tell me that the number one fear of Americans wasn’t dying in an airplane crash. That was merely number eight. Speaking in public is what Americans dread most.

I remember thinking to myself, “That’s great! If the airplane starts to crash, I’ll be okay as long as nobody asks me to make a speech on the way down!”

All kidding aside, there is nothing funny about this fear when it grips you. And it’s not a fear that’s easy to conquer. One of my college friends was a roadie for Linda Ronstadt back in the day. He told me she was a great-hearted, generous person and fantastic singer, but that didn’t rescue her. She was so afraid of public performance that she refused to do encores. Encores? That’s what you do when they’re clamoring for you to come back on stage!

No One Is Immune

Maybe you’ve heard the stories of famous people who would throw up before going on stage? The fear of failing in the performance made them literally nauseous. Evidently, acting against your fears doesn’t guarantee that you will get rid of them. But it will at least allow you to move forward on your life path.

This fear–the fear of speaking in public–also works against the Lord in church. Many gifted believers refuse to take a public role in the service of the Lord. They don’t want to be up front in any way. I used to ask people up to the front who had crackerjack testimonies of something God had done during the week. Naturally, I hoped that what they had to share would encourage everyone as much as it had me, when they told in private.

Sadly, I had to give it up. Something about Sunday service terrified them. Their “testimony” would come out so mousy, or so mumbled and muted, that it blessed absolutely no one. It only encouraged the devil to keep spreading the fear of speaking in public. That’s an anti-testimony!

Terrified about Speaking in Public

I didn’t have the luxury of bowing out. The Lord began calling me to be a preacher at age 33 when I met Him. By age 40, when I got out of Seminary I ran into this fear head-on. I had hoped for a jury of my peers–former hippies like myself. Perhaps they would judge me favorably. Instead, I landed in a very posh congregation in Savannah Georgia, where everybody seemed to be doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs. That terrified me.

Since I was the assistant, I only had to preach once a month which was a mercy. From the moment I looked at the scriptures, my eyes started crossing, my breathing got shallow and rapid, and my mind failed to function. I was hyperventilating over the passages of scripture! My wife would say I was “a bear” for the whole week leading up to the message.

I told the Lord I would have a heart attack if He didn’t help me get this thing figured out. For those of you who are secretly afraid that God might call you in the direction of your fears, be very afraid. That’s exactly what He did with me. Well, don’t be afraid, be valiant in fighting off those fears! That’s what I had to do and I’m so glad I slugged it out.

How the Relief Came

Seeking relief, I called my good friend–the one who led me to the Lord and got me into this mess in the first place. I cried out to him, “Eddie, what can I do?” He said, “Here’s how you’ll get your help, Steve. You’re going to preach and fail miserably.” I said, “Eddie you’re not helping me!” He said, “You’re going to fail, but the people will love you and help you get over it.” And you know what? He was right. The people loved me and stuck with me. That got me through the wretched early parts of the trek. The good book says that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

The nearly perfect love of the congregation for me cast out some of my fears, which was a great relief. What helped the most was focusing on the love of the Father, the help of the Holy Spirit and the mercy of Jesus. That finally got fear all the way out. But this was a process of prayer and persistence which lasted for a dozen years. Now, however, on the other side of it, I would rather be speaking in public than almost anything else. Isn’t that amazing!

You can follow more of that mending process and discover tips for getting free of “Shyness” at our website for healing, healingstreamsusa.org.