Fear Not (Don’t be Scurred)!

23 Aug Fear Not (Don’t be Scurred)!

Hey girl, hey!

So, last Thursday, my therapist said this thing and that sure you’ve heard it before. She said, “People like to say they’re afraid of failing, but what they’re really afraid of is succeeding.”

*squints eyes* Say what now?

Y’all, this really didn’t make any sense to me, I mean who is afraid of succeeding?!?!?! Failing is what feels bad, not succeeding! Succeeding feels good, right? I mean isn’t succeeding, the basis for all of the popular affirmations, mantras, and #hashtags?

So, check this out!  Friday, I went to dinner with my husband and he said (in a conversation about something totally different) that, “Success requires a level of responsibility that people are afraid of. It’s the leveling up that makes them afraid.”

Then I went to church that Sunday and my pastor preached on fear. The title of the message was ‘More Than a Reason Not to Fear’.

*throws papers in the air*

Y’all:

You know that I believe that God reveals things to us through repetition and in four days several people spoke to me about fear. I wondered: What is God trying to reveal to me?

So, first, I looked up the definitions, of both success and fear to make sure that I really understood what they meant.

Google defines success as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose” and fear as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.”

Ahaha! So maybe, I don’t think its fear. But could fear be manifesting itself in my complacency, imposter syndrome, comparisons or even a scarcity mindset?

A few years ago, I had an Aha moment. At this moment, I realized that I had a problem dreaming BIG. Don’t get me wrong, I like nice things and I want nice things. But, I’m talking about having the ability to really dream BIG and see abundance in absolutely everything!

Seriously, how many of you see yourselves being featured on the cover of Oprah Magazine, speaking on stages in front of 100,000 people or giving away a million dollars (add your comparable big things here). I didn’t. I couldn’t. Things of this magnitude don’t come to me at vision board parties or when I’m setting goals for myself. I only admired the people that did those things and kept leveling up with the boundaries I had set for myself.  Only, I didn’t know that I had set these boundaries.

You see, my childhood left a residue of financial quandaries and as a result, I sometimes have a problem thinking (seeing) in plenty. I see that my bills are paid, I see that I have a stable 8-5 and the potential for promotion. This is a cycle of scarcity, this is FEAR!

I know, I don’t like how it feels to be without or to have to finagle money around to make ends meet, so I make sure that I have enough to be comfortable.  This can easily turn into complacency, this is also FEAR!

In his sermon, my Pastor said that “you must be careful that in life and things that you are operating in faith and not fear.”

He meant that you should never make a decision in fear, only faith.

For Example:

Instead of:
“I going to learn this new software, in case I lose my job.”

Try:

“I can’t wait to see what God is going to do with my new skillset.”

I read that the phrase “fear not” appears at minimum, 80 times in the Bible.  I think that God’s is constantly speaking against it in His Word because he knows the enemy can use fear against us to decrease our hope, dreams and even affect our heart (our most powerful leadership tool).

Isaiah 43:1, says “Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine.” ⁠

He’s telling us not to worry, He’s got our backs. If we put our attention on Him, and what He thinks of us, we can shift our focus from fear to faith. ⁠

Woman of Judah, what will it take for you to make that focus shift from FEAR to FAITH at your job, in your marriage, in your parenting or while you’re chasing your dreams? We owe it to ourselves and God to live and prosper in a way that honors him. To me, that honor is saying “God, I know you have my back and I’m going to walk by faith and not by sight. Fear will not win today, because I know that I am your special possession, set apart and appointed to be a prophet to the nations.”

Go out there, Women of Judah and when the fear makes things feel heavy and keeps you small, I call you to remember who is holding you up.  My Pastor ended his message by saying, “When you push fear out, God will pour in.” Let’s push fear out and allow ourselves to receive our rightful blessings and think BIG and BOLD for our lives.

Increase your faith by reading what he says about us: 1 Peter 2:9; Jeremiah 1:5; Jeremiah 29:11; Ephesians 2:4-5; 1 John 3:1