The "Oh Crap" Test
The most repeated command in the Bible is “be not afraid.”
Its regularity indicates that most of us are intimidated when we discover God’s call in our lives. “Who am I to do this?” we might ask ourselves. “Why can’t I do something normal?”
And yet, if something is coming from God, it will click with our holiest desires. We often feel a sense of enlargement. We may still wonder whether God got the right person, but there tends to be an underlying joy, even if the new path will turn our lives upside down.
The intimidation we feel in response to God’s call is different from the anxiousness that is a telltale sign of the evil spirit. When something is not of God, we tend to feel restless and agitated. We can close in ourselves. We focus on the unchangeable past or imagine doomsday future scenarios.
To distinguish between these different experiences, I propose the “Oh Crap” Test:
Amen. I really get that! Social justice work is kind of like that too!