It’s the feeling that fear drags with it that I dread the most.
The clamp on my heart, surge in my stomach, lump in my throat – trademark stamp of fear! It doesn’t matter if it’s a reptile in the bathroom or a life changing diagnosis, fear has wreaked its share of havoc.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve worn fear around on my shoulder for most of my life. Always hungry for more of my attention, it was constantly fed until it grew into quite the beast. Its appetite was so demanding that faith – which sat patiently waiting on my other shoulder – was only fed the crumbs from my leftover thoughts.
Then something changed – I summoned up the courage and stopped feeding it. Cold turkey so to speak, fear went on a massive diet and it worked! I was on a hike in Colorado with my husband a couple years back when the fear on my shoulder got a severe calorie reduction.
We were climbing the “spine” of a favorite trail we’ve been hiking for over thirty years. It was a “sharp-as-a-tack” crisp Autumn day. Not one cloud stood in the sky, from sunup to sun down. It was the stuff hiking dreams are made of in the Colorado Rockies. It meant we could complete the entire loop without being clobbered by an afternoon thunderstorm or high altitude lightning strike. The only thing that stood in our way was …ME! And of course that beast of FEAR riding around on my shoulder.
To conquer the entire loop I had to get past a 100 foot section of trail that clung tightly to a sheer drop off. Until this day, I’ve never been able to do it. My fear had always turned ravenously hungry at the last minute and I’d reluctantly turn around and hike back defeated. My faith would be starving as fear sat there with a full belly.
It was at this moment, on this perfect October day that something permanently clicked in my fifty-something mind. I realized how many awe–inspiring things God was wanting to show me that I missed out on because I was feeding fear. Right then and there I sat down next to faith at the table and began feeding it full gulps of solid food. Fear looked dumbfounded, receiving not even a scrap.
I talked to myself out loud as I crossed the steepest part of the trail. I pictured myself as one of those deer that the Lord enabled to go on the heights. I knew He would do that for me, too. Before I could blink, my skinny faith was relishing in the feast and gaining strength. Was I scared while crossing past the cliff? YES! However, this time I chose not to focus on my feelings and instead hone in on what I knew to be true all along. My God is for me and I can trust in him. There were spectacular views to be seen and I was going to be there for it!
We completed the entire loop that day and a weight shifted decidedly on my shoulders. Now when fear taps me incessantly asking to be fed, I turn my back on him. Today my faith is fed daily, well nourished and healthy. It’s leading me with strong legs to places I never imagined going.
If we desire to live INTENTIONAL lives and to advance daily and achieve our dreams we must learn to feed our faith while starving our fear. In his book “15 Invaluable Laws of Grow”, John Maxwell identifies five factors that feed our fear. By identifying theses in our own lives, we can call them out by name and send them packing.
Which ones do you recognize in your own life?
Take a good hard look at failure because on the other side of it is your success. If the fear of failure is holding you back, consider facing off with it. What will REALLY happen if you fail? You may fall down, but you’ll also learn invaluable lessons about getting back up. There is so much more to be gained from taking that step and failing, then to never taking it all!
On that narrow trail along the cliff I had to give up the security of the known wide trail. The safety of what we had always done, for something frightening and unknown. What if that security is a job that you are completely miserable doing, but your desire is to start that business you’ve always dreamed of building?
When it comes to the unknown, I find it very helpful to evaluate my fear. One of my favorite scriptures for putting my fear in its proper perspective is Philippians 4:6, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” When reflecting on the excellent and praiseworthy, it becomes easier to summon the courage to step into the unknown and trust God for what he has in store for us.
As women we tend to gravitate toward security. Going out on a limb on the money tree is like being the last two kids in a game of musical chairs. Unsettling at best!
The good news is we are capable of learning about handling our finances. We can discover how to invest our money versus merely spending it. Knowledge is powerful, and the more we know, the smaller our fear becomes.
Think about what would happen if you starved fear with financial know–how and took action on starting that business dream. What if part of your business model involved assigning a purpose to a portion of your profits? Wouldn’t it be amazing to step out by taking a well calculated financial risk that would ultimately lead to a greater purpose in your life? That’s one way to squash fear and build your faith!
I’ll say this pure and simple, there are over eight billion people that are walking the earth at this moment. Only a fraction of a minuscule portion of those people will ever know, like and trust me. I will feed my faith by pouring into those people, so they in turn can pour into their people. I will not let fear of what others think keep me from doing the work that God has called me to do.
Guess what? It will. Our success will alienate some people in our lives. They will not approve of what we are doing. They will tell us we are going way over the top. They may even accuse us of being frauds, because they know who we were before we stood at the starting line. Continue on, this is our race not theirs!
It should be no secret that we have people in our lives who may be succumbing to these five fear factors themselves. Our success and our working hard to be better every day will remind these people of their own failures or fears. However, it is our job to continue on the road that we have been called to travel. Sometimes it is a lonely road, but it is our road. Starve the fear and embrace the faith.
My friend, I encourage you today to identify your fear factors. Face them! Evaluate them! Act on them! And then relax into your faith which is your greatest antidote to fear.
