The Lord is my light & my salvation–so why should I be afraid? – Psalm 27:1
Sometimes, when God gives us goals, we are not motivated by his promises to see us through, but instead we are immobilized by our own fears leaving us paralyzed from achieving God’s purposes in our lives. The fear is not always a fear of failure but of success. Yes, the fear of success stops us right in our tracks. Why do people fear being successful?
- Someone may feel that achieving success is impossible. In our own strength, achieving success may very well be impossible. But with the Almighty God on our side, all things are possible. Nothing is impossible for God (Jeremiah 32:17). In Matthew 19:26, Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Put your God-given goals into God’s hands and trust him with the outcome. He will see you through.
- Someone may feel that they are undeserving of success. Truly, are we deserving of anything our Heavenly Father gives us? Probably not. God loves us anyway and through his abundant mercy he gave us grace freely through his one and only Son, Jesus Christ. God delights in his children (Psalm 18:19, Zephaniah 3:17) and will give them the desires or their hearts (Psalm 37:4-5). I encourage you to examine your reasons for feeling undeserving. Is there any un-confessed sin in your life? Are you holding on to negative events from your past that are preventing you from trusting God and his promises from you? If so, go to God in prayer and ask for his forgiveness (1 John 1:9) and help and don’t look back at your past. Instead, claim God’s future plans for you.
- Someone may fear the expectations of what’s required of them after they achieve success. God instructed many people in the Bible to do extraordinary things. God told Noah to build an ark. God told Abram to leave the land of his father and of his people and to go to a place where he had never been. God told Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. God told Paul to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. When each of these people was told by God to accomplish these extraordinary tasks, they didn’t feel that it was possible for them to achieve success. Also, they were not focused on what people thought of them after achieving God’s appointed task. Their focus was on God’s expectation of them accomplishing the task, not on human applause, fame or fortune. Our goal should be hearing our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23). Everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48). And if much more is asked by God, he will give you what you need to succeed.
So remember, whatever task God has given you accomplish, he is your light. He will lead you and guide you. God is your salvation. He will keep you safe and provide you with everything that you need. Trust in him as your light and your salvation and you never ever have to be afraid.
