Go and express yourself

Bob Woolmer, that tragically died during the world cup in India, coached South Africa and Pakistan respectively in International cricket. He coached Boland Provincial side to success which made the selectors take note of him.
One of the players of Boland, John Commins, became captain of South African A side (which really is the 'B' side to the International Protea team)and also played a game for the Proteas. When he was asked about his rise to the top he had the following to say about the Bob Woolmer: 'He picked a side and then told us, do not worry about being dropped from the side. You are picked for the next 5 games. Go out there as a batsman and express yourself. I have confidence in you, that is why I picked you!'
That approach took away the pressure of fear of failure and suddenly the Boland team became a force to be reckoned with.
Fear of failure is self-talk that minimzes potential during performance. By reducing that inner resistance one can perform at higher levels to one's full potential.
An electric train can pull a greater load than a steam engine. It makes contact with the electric wires by the two pantographs located on top of the roof of the unit and then a small lever, about six inches long, is placed in the resistor and slowly drawn backwards to break the resistance which releases the power of the electric current to move the entire train forward.
That little lever is the most important piece of equipment the train driver possess. He carries it in his pocket and never leaves it lying around. Without it the train is stuck.
There is a little lever that all of us have, but do not always use. It is called faith. It is a gift from above. We tend to use our lever of doubt more often than the lever of faith. Faith overcomes the fear of failure.
Paul gives a piece of advice in Galatians where he tells us that faith works through love. John the beloved disciples gives us a further notice that perfect love casts out all fear. Those who fear are not made perfect in love, yet.
Paul advises us in Romans 10 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So in a nutshell, if we hear what the word of God (the Bible) tells us and we believe it is God speaking to us, we will receive faith because we know our heavenly Father loves us, and we will overcome the stumbling blocks of fear that spoil our potential.
The gift of faith is a special edition that is given by the Holy Spirit at the right time. First Corinthians 12 tells us about the gifts of the spirit. As we desire these gifts the Holy Spirit distributes them to us.
Through the gift of faith the heroes of the bible have accomplished great deeds for the sake of the people of God. David slew Goliath, Moses led Israel through the Red Sea, Noah built and ark that saved his family from the flood, Samson slew 1000 Philistines. Some intellectuals propose that all these stories are mere allegories and that none ever happened...what a surprise they have waiting for them when they one day actually meet those characters who will tell them how it actually happened!
When I told the story about Bob Woolmer's advice at our annual Men's Camp in Hermanus, one of our younger brothers, a prize winning wedding photographer added the following insight which is worth sharing with others: Bob Woolmer's advice is captured in the writing of Paul when he says, we are positioned in Christ Jesus, by faith, and there is no fear of being dropped from the team, as long as we believe it him, so we can go out there today and express ourselves to the best of our ability, knowing our position is secure!