Strategy 6

Your Fears

Confronting Your Worries, Claiming Your Calling

If I were your enemy, I’d magnify your fears, making them appear insurmountable, intimidating you with enough worries until avoiding them becomes your driving motivation. I would use anxiety to cripple you, to paralyze you, leaving you indecisive, clinging to safety and sameness, always on the defensive because of what might happen. When you hear the word faith, all I’d want you to hear is “unnecessary risk.”

A fun road trip to Austin, Texas.

Just me, my big sister Chrystal, and one of our closest friends, Shawna.

Chrystal was driving, I was in the front passenger seat, and Shawna was in the back . . . talking about something she’d been thinking about doing but why she couldn’t do it and how she felt bad about not doing it but why it didn’t matter because she could never do it anyway. On and on like that. Chrystal and I looked ahead out the windshield, sipping our lattes and listening, nodding in sympathy and genuine concern. When we tried to press her on what her real hesitations were, she kept talking and rationalizing and deflecting and defending until she finally nearly snapped our heads back with a really unexpected, highly exasperated, “Because I’m not READY!”

[road noise, the low hum of air coming from the A/C vents]

“Because I’m SCARED!”

Allow me to step back for a second and do a better job of introducing Shawna to you. Because if all you knew about her was what I’d just described, I’d be giving you the completely wrong impression. My friend is a devoted wife of nearly twenty years and a highly accomplished, highly intelligent mother of three. Tremendously adept at managing a full household. Dynamic, outspoken believer. Trains hard-core for marathons. (I don’t even know how many of those things she’s run.) She’s full of energy but with tenderness too, as well as a knack for giving people spot-on insights about their deepest needs and toughest questions. As a licensed counselor who runs her own business, she’s the kind who gets sent referrals when people hit a dead-end through all other routes of care and treatment and simply aren’t going to make it unless they see someone of Shawna’s caliber. She’s the best in her field . . . and in every other way too.

In the months leading up to our outing, however, the Lord had been fairly obvious and direct in leading her to start cutting back on her caseload and start focusing on doing some writing—cataloging all this stellar wisdom she’s been dishing out for all these years and collecting it into resources that can multiply her ministry of counsel and encouragement to who knows how many others. Her husband had told her, “Honey, just do it. We’ll be all right financially. I believe in you and in what you can do, and I truly want you following the Lord on this. We’ll do what we need to do to make it happen. I’m totally behind you.” So everything was lining up. Every indication on her spiritual radar was tracking with this new direction.

Only one problem: she was scared.

Master’s degree. Business owner. College teacher.

Even a woman like her can get scared.

And now, in the car on the way back from a weekend with friends, tears rolled down her cheeks as she chronicled her internal struggle: What if I can’t do it? What if I make all these arrangements, release my client list, sit down in front of that computer, and nothing comes out? Nothing makes sense? Worse yet, what if I do get some stuff written, start to feel pretty good about it, but nobody likes it? Or what if they’re too nice to say they don’t like it, but I can tell from what they do say (and don’t say) that I’ve failed miserably? What if no avenues crop up where I can get my work published or distributed? Even if I can, what if people don’t find it helpful or useful or any different from anything else they’ve read? What if the financial adjustment we’ll need to make in order for me to do it means my kids will have to give up some of the activities they love? What if it all ends up being a total waste of time and energy? What if it’s all just some sort of ego trip or head game, something I’m projecting onto myself?

“I’m not ready, y’all—I’m SCARED!”

She sniffled. Wiped away a few runaway tears.

I wanted to console her—reach back and rub her knee—to say, there, there, I understand. But in that moment, other words started coming out instead before I’d really processed what they might sound like, spoken with a fierceness and intensity that shocked even me.

“Do it anyway!” I said, spinning around almost a full turn from my front-seat position, looking directly into her face. “Shawna, if the only reason you aren’t moving forward is fear, then don’t you see that the enemy is trying to paralyze you? He’s the one behind this. Don’t sit there and let him do that. Don’t let him stop you from moving forward. I don’t care how afraid or not ready you may feel. Obey God anyway!”

She stared at me blankly. I stared back. Both of us stunned by my indignation.

The fact is, I was mad. Still am. Mad at the enemy for messing with my friend like that. And I’m mad at him for messing with you too . . . and with me. With all of us. Anytime I begin seeing that the only thing keeping me from receiving everything God wants to give me is the fear tactic the enemy is using against me—it makes me mad. I start feeling a holy indignation rolling up over my shoulders and picking me up from behind. Because if he’s working that hard to keep me from moving forward, there must be some blessing or beauty from heaven he’s trying to divert me from. And I’m just not having it, not anymore, not from him. I hope you’re not either.

The fact is this: fear is one of Satan’s primary schemes for crippling God’s people. I’m not talking about legitimate concern. I’m not talking about the protective warnings of wisdom and godly counsel. I’m talking about fear. Incessant worry. Up-all-night anxiety. Worst-case scenarios becoming the only probabilities you can think about. Fears like these, instead of simply raising our blood pressure, ought to set off some fire alarms. Why am I feeling so paralyzed like this?

We clearly know from Scripture that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7 nkjv). So whenever you sense a “spirit of fear” invading any particular area of your life, you can know by process of elimination that it’s not coming from God . . . which only leaves one other spiritual place it could be originating from . . . which ought to make you wonder why it’s there. Aren’t you at least a little bit curious what he’s trying to keep you from experiencing?

I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with the story of Moses and the children of Israel, pinned up against the waters of the Red Sea while the Egyptian pharaoh and his armies were bearing down hard from behind. Israel was fast in the process of being surrounded by people whose nation had brutalized them and their ancestors for four long, horrendous centuries. No escape. And the only direction that wasn’t swarming with enemy hordes, the one path God was directing His people to go, lay straight ahead through the sea.

So these two million Hebrews had every reason to be terrified. Mortified really. There was no swimming out of this one.

And yet, in the face of such impossible circumstances, with the odds so heavily stacked against them, and with no indicator of the miracle that God had planned, Moses said to the people, “Do not fear!” (Exod. 14:13). His very first instruction to them was not to be afraid.

Notice that Moses wasn’t telling them not to feel fear. The prospect of looming death will just kind of do that. On its own. Fear is a natural human response to a lot of things, a Red Sea moment being one of them. So he knew they would feel fear, but he was telling them not to wallow in it. Not to choose it. Not make friends with it. Not entertain it, engage it. Because if they did, they risked not sticking around long enough to experience the stunning miracle their God was about to perform. And even more, they risked not getting to the other side. To the Promised Land. To the milk and to the honey. To destiny.

Oh, so that’s what the enemy wanted fear to keep them from obtaining. That’s what they’d all be singing about in the next chapter, while Pharaoh’s army was being swallowed whole by the waters and Israel was now just a hop and a skip from Sinai.

And that’s what he hopes fear will keep you from obtaining too.

Your destiny.

Let me say this: I do know firsthand how the despair of intimidation feels when it’s strangling you around the neck. I know the kind of paralysis that can harden around you when you’re scared to death about going through with something you’ve committed to do, and you just don’t think you’ve got what it takes to do it. I’ve known those times—like you perhaps—when all we feel like doing is pulling the drapes, climbing back under the covers, and wishing the next few hours (or days? or weeks?) would please just go away.

But whether you need a gentle hand today reaching out to hold yours, or if (like my sweet friend Shawna) you could use a little tough love right now to shake yourself awake from the stupor of all those excuses, the prescription is still the same . . .

Do. Not. Be. Afraid.

This issue of fear is so well-known and important to God that more than three hundred times in Scripture He tells His people—in one form or another—not to be afraid. “Fear not.” “Be ye not afraid.” “Do not fear.” Look it up. It’s everywhere. You know those times when you’re searching high and low for just one verse to tell you what God wants you to do? Well, here’s three hundred of them. And they’re all saying the same thing: “Don’t be afraid.”

It’s the enemy telling you, “Be very afraid.”

Is that the kind of junk he’s been feeding you lately? Twenty million reasons why you can’t? Can’t kick the habit? Can’t stand up and lead a Bible study? Can’t help start that inner-city ministry? Not qualified enough for that job? Can’t do this, could never do that, be crazy to even think about doing that other thing?

Why not? Might take too much time? Not to mention the pressure? The germs? Do I really want to risk the rejection of being told no? Don’t I realize what I’d be giving up in terms of security and salary and insurance benefits? What would people think if I did something so audacious, something out of my normal routine and pattern? Wouldn’t I just be opening myself up to criticism and catty comments? What about my food allergies, my fear of flying, all my other various intolerances?

Are those the kind of speed bumps and roadblocks he’s been laying in front of you, seemingly all your life?

He’s just full of it. Full of excuses. Invested in cramming you full of fear. Why? Because fear is the antithesis of faith. And faith is what allows you to step foot on the soil of your destiny.

Hear me out, and hear me good. I’m about to write a long, run-on sentence, but I want you hanging on every word: If God has given you clear direction, like He gave the children of Israel (or like He’s given to my friend Shawna)—direction that’s confirmed by His written Word and by the sounding board of wise, godly counsel—and your only real reason for resisting Him is because you’re afraid of what following Him down this path might mean or cost or entail, then you’re not only on the threshold of being disobedient, you’re about to miss an opportunity to give God some fresh, new glory by doing what He’s wanting to do through you, which is the true impetus behind His invitation for you to join Him on this scary adventure in the first place.

In fervent prayer, we discover something: Our God is fearless. And because He is fearless, we can be fearless too. When His presence is with us and going before us, no Red Sea should faze us or give us pause.

So despite your hesitation, say yes.

Walk on. Have faith. Fear not.

Call to Prayer

God wouldn’t tell us not to be afraid—or tell it to us so often—if He didn’t fully realize that fear, worry, anxiety, queasiness, cold feet, sweaty palms, dry mouth, and racing heartbeats are our first, natural reaction to some of the challenges of following Him, especially those (like most) that don’t come with clear, step-by-step instructions on how to handle every possible hiccup or contingency.

The enemy, of course—aware of this—is always lurking nearby, eager to animate and agitate those concerns of ours so they keep us up at night and interfere with our ability to think clearly. He even goes a step further, stamping a spirit of fear on the very things He knows are God’s best options for us. But God is always there as well—far outranking him in strength—to hear our troubled prayers, reaffirm His fearless promises, and deliver the next bit of lamplight we need for walking steadily in His direction.

Prayer is the difference maker. An invitation for honesty, yes, for telling him how you feel—infused with the assurance and fearless confidence that comes from God’s promises.

Remember these worries of yours? They’re not just stray thoughts; they’re deliberate strategies. Strategies to derail you from your destiny and calling. And the way to fight them is with a deliberate prayer strategy of your own.

When I am afraid,

I will put my trust in You.

In God, whose word I praise,

In God I have put my trust;

I shall not be afraid.

What can mere man do to me? (Ps. 56:3–4)

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

The word of the Lord came to me:

I chose you before I formed you in the womb;

I set you apart before you were born.

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

But I protested, “Oh no, Lord, God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.”

Then the Lord said to me:

Do not say, “I am only a youth,”

for you will go to everyone I send you to

and speak whatever I tell you.

Do not be afraid of anyone,

for I will be with you to deliver you.
(Jer. 1:4–8 hcsb)

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:27)

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;

I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
(Ps. 32:8)

I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you! (Luke 21:15 nlt)

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (John 10:27–29)

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us . . . let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Heb. 10:19–20, 23)

As you take these Scriptures and get ready to craft your prayer, I thought you’d want to know that Shawna—she’s doing it. Instead of letting fear be the loudest voice in the room, she’s been able to go back and implement obedience, going forward as instructed. She’s not the one crying in the backseat anymore. She’s thrown fear into the backseat. And good for her . . . because nobody’s telling my Holy Spirit fuel-injected friend that she’s not good enough, not ready, not capable . . . that she can’t.

Oh, yes, she can.

And so can you.