Impact of Shyness on Life and Leadership (2 Timothy 1:7; 1 Samuel 9-10)

 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)

(1Samuel 9-10)

In this process God had chosen and called Saul to be king of Israel.  At first, he was timid and fearful and hid among the luggage.  As a consequence, he lost the respect of some of his people.  He lost his footing as a king soon after his calling.  Fear and timidity were not a substitute for humility in God’s sight.  God had given him a chance to be king.  Had he blown it?

Maybe you have had a leader over you who was anointed of the Lord but showed a timid spirit and did not really fit in as a leader.  Nevertheless, as we look deeper in the story, we find that Saul’s shyness caused him trouble and worked against him.

As God became sorry that he ever called Saul because of a disobedient step he gave him many opportunities to repent of his wrongs.  He placed a truly assistant on his path and David the next to be king was first used through the medium of worship to appease king Saul’s spirit.  In the process, God was strengthening the dynasty of the descendant of the future king David. Through the iron of Saul, future king David’s character was hewn to the greatness of a king who would precede Christ, the king of Kings.

I wonder if Saul’s life is a warning for us for our own life of how devastating shyness can be as it is fear of people, not just in leadership but in life.

God has not given us a spirit of shyness which might denotes another spirit other than the Holy Spirit.  Another spirit we should not even associate with.  Is shyness what caused Saul to stumble and self-sabotage his own leadership.  Fear can be our greatest enemy in life.

Sometimes fear could cause us to be disobedient to God and obedience is better than sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15:22)

We must forsake all shyness for the sake of love and power and sound mind.  Sound mind which Saul lost eventually when he was in the presence of David.  David though, was full of praise and brought him deliverance.

Through his lifetime, David protected and respected Saul’s anointing which is another great lesson for us all.

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