Fear Is Natural, But It Doesn’t Have To Own You

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’  And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’”-Genesis 3:8-10

I am in the process of writing my first book. The initial book I was writing has been put on hold while I write this one. I am almost done…I think?

My wife and several other friends have assisted with the process of reading through the first draft. They have made some corrections, suggestions, and edits. I have been overwhelmed by their support, honesty, and encouragement.

They haven’t told me to scrap it, so I guess that’s a good thing. I told them not to hold back, and considering who had been reading, I am pretty sure they would have told me it was terrible and if I needed to trash it.

Anyway, as I have been writing, I have been beating up my fear. Every time my hands went to the keyboard and began to write, I would instantly begin to question my ability.

I would have the thought, “Why would anyone want to read anything you write? Who are you? Nobody knows who you are? You’re going to fail.”

I would have to tell myself, “You are the only one stopping yourself from writing. You aren’t writing to please others. Your fear is just a way to keep you complacent. Push through!”

Fearing our ability to do something is natural. We are fearful creatures. If Adam and Eve didn’t fail in the Garden of Eden, I am pretty sure fear wouldn’t exist. However, they did fail, and through that failure they hid in the bushes out of fear from their failure.

They experienced failure and they knew they messed up. They knew they had to answer for that failure and it wasn’t going to be pretty. They learned a hard lesson when God kicked them out of the garden and now we have to do a lot of hard work because of it.

When we fail, it stays with us. We might learn from it, but that failure becomes our fear. When we allow our failures to own us that is when fear becomes stronger.

A lot of times we fear because we don’t want to fail people or in front of people. Our pride beats us. We then step away from challenging experiences. We don’t take risks. We won’t try to meet anyone new because of failed relationships in the past. We won’t try a new sport or activity because we have failed in the past. You get my point.

Our fear can ruin our future if we allow it to control us through our failures.

Today, take the opportunity to address a fear. Remind yourself, everyone fails. You won’t be the first and you won’t be the last. So, today, you will try whatever it is you have been afraid of and show that you will not be held captive by your fear.

If you need encouragement, take a friend or write to me. Seriously, I’ll check in. I’ll encourage you from afar.

Do not allow your fear to enslave you. You are supposed to experience life in abundance, but when you allow fear to keep you back, your life is hindered and you’re experiencing it at a minimum.

Let’s look back to the Adam and Eve story. Yes, they failed. Yes, God was upset. Yes, He kicked them out of the Garden.

Yet, He clothed them. He let them live. He gave them more land. He allowed them to be fruitful and multiply. He continued His purpose through them. He didn’t stop because of their failure.

God will not stop using you because of your failure. He wants to keep you moving. Fear because of failure keeps you from discovering God’s purpose in you. Move forward. Step out of the bushes. Let God place you where you need to be placed and let Him guide your steps.

He is bigger than the fear you face and His purpose in you is defined by Him, not your failures.

May you experience a life with minimal fear and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace and blessings friends.

QUESTION: What fear do you have that keeps you from moving forward?