I take my seat at a coffee shop table on a lovely morning. Outside, the birds are declaring love and war. The murmur of conversations and the scent of espresso surround me.

I am here to work. Yet the project in front of me feels so much bigger than I am. Fear whispers, You don’t have what it takes to do this.

I coach writers, and I find a common myth they believe is that at some point, the fear goes away. At some point, it fades like a morning fog. There’s a collective belief that one day you will wake up with a courage that persists. But life doesn’t work like this.

If you dare to offer anything to the world — love, art, your heart — then you will be afraid when you do it. Why? Because it matters to you.

We don’t feel fear when we don’t care; we feel apathy, boredom, disengagement. But the dreams we cherish, the relationships we treasure, the risks we want to take, the difference we want to make — these come with fear.

I’ve said before that God does not prohibit fear; He knows we will experience it. Look at Scripture and you will see He says “do not fear” to those already experiencing it. This is not a rigid command; it is a compassionate reassurance. His gentle invitation is to not stay in fear, not dwell in the paper-thin tents of our anxiety, not sit in the darkness of our “what ifs.”

I’ve learned that fear starts to flee in the wide-open light of honesty. So I write in my journal, “Jesus, I don’t have it in me to do this.” I pause, hesitate, continue, “But I have YOU in me. So I am trusting that is enough.”

I find that when I get trapped in fear, it’s often because I’ve decided it’s all up to me. I have to make things happen. I’m responsible for the results. My effort is the engine of the train. When I think that way, I’m exhausted before I even begin.

But this is not the reality I have to live in. The grander, truer story is that within me, I have the God who spoke the world into being. He has no trouble with His to-do list. He’s not wringing His hands over uncompleted tasks. He made starfish and a billion sunsets.

What He is asking of me is not to get something done; He is inviting me on a journey of intimacy with Him. Will you go here with Me?

Whatever you’re pursuing is an invitation, too. The dream, the goal, the desire for reconciliation in a relationship. It is not about the checkmark or trophy, the score or even the satisfaction of completion. What calls to our hearts most is the God who loves us, beckoning us into an adventure with Him.

God did not make you to simply obey Him. He created you for love. To first know you are loved deeply, wildly, beyond imagination. Then to respond with love to that knowing with each breath, each step, each moment.

As I remember this, I breathe deep.

Here’s the secret that can set us free: Say “yes” to Jesus and you cannot fail.

Oh, things may not go the way we want. I know this. I have lived this. I’ve seen everything I longed for most go up in smoke because someone else set fire to it. I’m not saying this out of naiveté or false positivity. I’ve lived too long on this spinning earth to have the luxury of believing everything will be fine.

But when walking with Jesus — to wherever He invites us to go — is the ultimate goal, then fear cannot win and we can’t lose.

At the end of this project, I will be loved.

At the end of whatever you’re pursuing, you will be loved.

At the end of this life, for all of eternity, we will be loved.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18 NIV). When fear comes for us, the most human thing to do is to try harder, do more, fix it ourselves. But what we need instead of striving for perfection is perfect love, a return to resting in our belovedness. “Perfect” in this verse means whole and complete. When we are afraid, it is often because we have forgotten we are fully loved.

That was true of me this morning. I showed up to this project believing I had something to prove. But this is not so; I can let that go. Instead, I can believe I am loved and let that truth make me brave.

I do not have it in me to do this.

You do not have it in you to do that.

But we have the God who is Love in us.

And that is enough.

Do you want reminders of truth to help fight your fear? Holley created 12 Fear-Fighting, Faith-Building Scripture Cards for you! They’re free!

 

Listen to Holley’s devotion here or on the (in)courage podcast wherever you stream!

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