Hindered by False Humility

“Stir up the gift of God which is in you
through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us
a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.”
2 TIMOTHY 1:6-8

Paul does not tell Timothy to pray for a better opportunity, or passively wait for God to rise up within him and overwhelm him. Timothy needed to exercise the gift. He needed to stir it up. He had something to offer, something to contribute.

Paul’s exhortation was not to persist in false humility or passive waiting, but to be proactive, to stir it up, and serve the Body of Christ as a faithful steward. According to Paul’s assessment, it was not a spirit of humility that held Timothy back, it was a spirit of fear.

Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden