Fortunately the Gospel needs neither our confidence for its power and effectiveness, nor our skill in telling it. Rom. 1.16-17 (ESV) tells us, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” In fact, the Greek word used for “power” in this passage is the root word for dynamite.

The Bible contains several people who were asked by God to speak on his behalf, but who feared that their weaknesses would hinder the message. Or they feared what those who heard would do to them once they spoke the message. Examples include Moses (Ex. 4.1-17) Jeremiah (Jer. 1), and Jonah (Jon. 1-2). In each case God declared that He provided the power of speaking; that He was responsible for the results; and that His people needed only be faithful to do God’s request, and receive His empowerment.