Not Letting Fear Hold Me Back

In review of Ephesians 2:10 it says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Bottom Line:

God has pre-planned and fashioned you in Christ to good things for others.

What this means to me:

I am one of God’s masterpieces, created new in Christ Jesus to do good things. This he had planned well in advance so that I could spend my life helping others.

Fear seems to be at the root of me developing my full potential, being what God wants me to be and building a legacy that will last into eternity.

What I’m learning is that there are three kinds of fear that will keep me from developing my talents and accomplishing my purpose.

First, self-doubt. This will keep me locked in a prison and unable to develop my potential. This is a fear of failure. What I need to remember is that failure is not fatal! In fact, the fear of failure is far worse than the failure itself. Failure is actually a good thing. Failure is how I can learn what doesn’t work. And it’s how I grow into a better parent, partner, and professional. I shouldn’t let self-doubt keep me down. It will be better for me to attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to do nothing and succeed.

Second, self-consciousness. If I worry about what other people think, nothing will ever get done in my life. I just have to do what God tells me to do. That’s all I’m accountable for. I’m not called to be the best in the world. I’m only called to be the best that God made me to be.

Lastly, self-pity. There were two disciples that had spectacular failures. Peter and Judas both denied Jesus in clutch time, but they responded to their failure in very different ways. Judas went out and had a pity party and hung himself. Peter, on the other hand, wept bitterly, grieved about it, repented, asked God to forgive him, picked himself up, and went back to serving God. And 40 days later, Peter spoke to the whole city of Jerusalem on Pentecost, and 3,000 people became believers and the Church was born. Of all the people God could have used to start the church, he used the guy with the biggest failure. That means there’s room for me in the family of God!

Instead of living in fear, believe what God says about me in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV).

In summary, I am one of God’s masterpieces, created new in Christ Jesus to do good things. This is something he had planned well in advance so that I could spend my life helping others. This morning I remind myself that it is you who have created new in Christ to do your will and serve others. Of the three types of fear I believe I get caught up in the first two, self-doubt and self-consciousness. I often tell myself that failure is not good. In reality it’s the mistakes that really end up shaping me and making me better. I also find that I look quite frequently to what others think of me, ignoring what God tells me. Today, I will ease up on myself about failures and look toward God for my approval. I will work toward not letting fear hold be back.