As believers and children of God, we know His voice. As our relationship with Him develops, we become better at hearing and trusting His voice. We know when He speaks, and we know when He’s leading us. The only reason we question His instructions is that they challenge us in ways we’re not comfortable with. This discomfort is a product of one thing: fear.
We often view fear as a broad emotion, preventing us from identifying its root and surrendering it to Him.
God never provides an instruction that contradicts His character, and He will never tell us something He doesn’t also confirm. Since we know this, why are we still not moving?
The answer to this question rests in two common fears that keep us stuck in disobedience.
Fear's Role In Why We Delay Doing What God Has Already Confirmed
1. The first is fear of the outcome.
We live in a time of information overload. Between 24-hour news cycles and social media, there is nothing we are unaware of.
This awareness has made us dependent on knowing the details of every situation. It creates the illusion that knowing everything allows us to make informed decisions about the parts of our lives that it affects.
One of the greatest disruptions to this unhealthy cycle and level of exposure is a word from God. It’s disruptive because it comes with no details and certainly no guarantees of specific outcomes.
Our need to know everything keeps us stagnant because answering His call requires a level of faith we’re no longer used to. This is what makes Proverbs 3:5 so difficult to follow.
A sobering truth is that the fear of outcomes isn’t just being afraid of what the end will be. It’s also a fear of the process.
2. The second fear is of people’s opinions.
I’m happy you’ve stuck around to read this next part, but please know you have the luxury of listening in on a conversation I’m having with myself.
We’ve ascribed so much weight to what people think and have to say about us that it has become a form of idolatry. While no blood sacrifices are made (hopefully), every decision we contemplate is first laid at the altar of “What will THEY say?”
The interesting thing about this fear is that it’s disguised in similar questions: ‘Will THEY not think I’m good enough? Will THEY think that my past disqualifies me? Will THEY no longer want me in their life or circle if I pursue this?’
This fear is crushing because it doesn’t just impact your calling, but your identity. This fear says that what God says about you and what you can do are only true if THEY support and embrace you.
The fear of people’s opinions isn’t limited to being afraid of what they will say or think about you, but it’s also a fear that who you are is too inadequate to do what He’s called you to.
I think this is what makes Jeremiah 29:11 such a comforting scripture. In this verse, God tells us specifically what He thinks about us, and those thoughts precisely inform His perfect plan for our lives and the calling He’s placed on us.
Fear itself is rooted in lies, so let me leave you with two truths to help you move forward.
1. To follow God is to trust His love for you without knowing where the next step leads or even what the end of the road looks like. It’s doing this because you know the cross was too expensive a price to pay for Him to lead you anywhere that is less than heaven’s best for you.
2. If God, in all His sovereignty and the full knowledge of who you are, the things you’ve done, and the things you will do, still decided to call you, what THEY say doesn’t carry the authority you’ve given it.