Fear Of Failure
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear…. – Psalm 27:1-3a.
Many of us have unreasonable fears. A seven-year-old boy in England at one time had a fear of all foods except for jam sandwiches. He was finally cured of this fear. A woman in San Francisco was terminated by her employer because of her fear of showering in the morning, which resulted in her having an offensive body odor (Exacerbated by her allergies to deodorants.). Others of us have reasonable fears such as the fear of our hard drive crashing. Reasonable fears are usually based on our past experiences. Some fear traffic accidents having experienced those accidents in the past. Some fear flying because they were at one time in a plane crash.
Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke one of the most well known quotes about fear in the midst of the great American depression. At his inauguration as president he said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This is very applicable to what may be the Christian’s greatest fear, the fear of failure. What is it that keeps us from doing what God wants us to do? What keeps us from witnessing to those around us? What keeps us from responding to God’s call upon our lives? What keeps us from seeing the fulfillment of those God given dreams in our lives? It is the unreasonable fear of failure that keeps us down and holds us back.
Why is the fear of failing at what God wants us to do unreasonable? It is unreasonable if we believe God is really God. Do we believe that the God we serve is the Creator of the Universe? Do we believe that He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent? Do we believe that He is holy? Do we believe that He provided the Way of salvation for us through the sacrifice of His Son? If we really believe that our God is all of these things and more than what have we to fear? We only have fear itself to fear. King David came to that point of no longer fearing fear whether those fears were unreasonable or reasonable. He had complete trust and faith in His God.
Overcoming our fear of failure requires the development of faith (Hebrews 11:6). Development of our faith requires immersion in the Word of God. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).” Develop your faith! Overcome your fears and launch out into greater service to the Lord your God. Believe as Abraham came to believe: “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform (Romans 4:19-21).”
(Overcoming the fear of failure requires the development of faith.)