“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears” (Les Brown).
The fear of failure prevents many Christian stewards from successfully living out their God-given dreams, leading them to failure in God’s eyes. Whether they fail because of the refusal to try or the abandonment of trust in God, the fear of failure prevents many from living out their God-given dreams successfully. “Breaking agreement against fear” is how we combat these fears.
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure” (Paulo Coelho).
Satan tries to use the fear of failure to paralyze Christians into fear, sabotaging their efforts toward being a faithful steward, fulfilling their God-given dreams, and living a successful Christian life (based upon Charles Stanley’s definition of success).
The fear of failure has led many stewards to hide and bury their talents (refusal to try), making them an unfaithful servant who fails to achieve their God-given dream, making them a failure in God’s eyes. The fear of failure also has had an influence in causing countless stewards to abandon their trust in God, which also results in failing.
Breaking Agreement With Fear
To overcome the fear of failure, we must mentally revoke both its authority and influence over our lives by breaking agreement with that fear:
“Breaking an agreement with fear” involves first “waking up the fact that you have been letting the fear of failure act like a boss in your life”, and then “deciding to rip up fear’s rulebook in how you think and live and then take back your life through the power of God. You repent, realizing you have been headed in the wrong direction; you then choose to follow a different path, a path not controlled by fear of failure.” (AI).
How Do I Break Agreement with the Fear of Failure?
1. Shift Success from Outcome to Obedience (Focus on Doing Your Part, Not on Results)
As we pursue our God-given dream, the fear of failure almost always causes us to heavily focus on results. However, when God gives us an assignment, His evaluating of our success is based upon “obedience, not immediate victory”.
If God asks you to do something, He considers our life already a success when we are faithful to our purpose by stepping out of faith and choosing to be obedient to the Spirit’s leading, regardless of the outcomes resulting from our efforts.
“God has not called me to be successful; he has called me to be faithful” (Mother Teresa).
Our responsibility as a steward is only to be faithful in everything He calls us to do; God is in charge of the results:
Faithfulness means: “Lord, I will faithfully pursue what You have asked me to do, but You alone decide how, when, and where it bears fruit.”
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).
When you stop stressing over the final result, and give the Trinity ownership of it, the fear of failure begins to lose its grip over our lives.
2. Renounce the Lie That “Failure Disqualifies You”
The fear of failure often causes us to imagine failing, and “when we fail, we subsequently fear we will be disqualified by God: If we fail too much or make too big of a mistake, we may fear “God will terminate our services of being His steward”).
We then may refuse to try, as the fear of rejection and of experiencing future shame from failing, tries to consume us through the fear of failure.
“Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out” (Benjamin Franklin).
No one is perfect; everyone fails and makes mistakes. According to God, the only true failure is the “refusal to try or the abandonment of trust in God”.
We should always have a “growth mindset” towards failure. A “growth mindset” views failure and making mistakes as feedback toward future growth, realizing true growth comes from not from trying to obsessively avoid mistakes at all costs, but from making errors and learning and growing from what we did incorrectly. Making mistakes is part of the process of learning and growth.
“Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves” (Cheryl Strayed)
By their imperfect earthly fathers as a child, many Christians have experienced rejection which has intensified the fear of failure in them. Being told by their fathers in the past, that they are “not good enough”, “incompetent”, “a hopeless cause”, or that “nothing good can come out of their lives”, many Christian stewards still believe this “untrue story” today and subsequently struggles with the fear of failure. Falsely believing Abba Father thinks the same way about them that their imperfect earthly fathers did about them, many Christians, from the father’s wound, have trust issues with not only self, but with God.
Those who don’t trust God because they fear rejection from Him (caused by the father’s wound) tend more to bury their talents in the ground (refuse to try) and abandon their trust in God when challenges arise than those who trust God better and haven’t had a father’s wound.
How does God view anyone who He considered as having failed in His eyes?
The Master We Serve Is Also Abba Father Who Perfectly Loves Us
God is not the same type of father as your imperfect earthly father. God is Love, and He is perfect in every manner, therefore, His love is always perfect. When we fail, Abba Father never condemns. Nothing can every separate you from His love. God perfectly loves you the same, regardless, how many times we fail Him.
God treats those who fail the same way as the father did in the prodigal son story when his son failed and deserted the father (Luke 15:11-31). When the son returned, the father didn’t condemn, scold, or reject the child; instead, he welcomed the son back with his open, loving arms of acceptance, and threw a party to celebrate His child’s return.
When God decided to have Christ die for all your sins, omniscient God knew, before Christ’s crucifixion, every time you would fail Him in your entire life; still He chose to forgive you.
Once saved, we are considered justified, legally declared righteous of all sins, including every time we would fail Him, because of His perfect grace toward us. Because of His perfect grace, regardless how many times you would sin, or how many times you would fail in being a faithful steward, God still chose you to be justified. Because you are justified, you will always be eternally loved, totally accepted, and completely forgiven by God.
The reason why the Judge evaluates if we succeed or fail in being a faithful steward is because He wants to reward us in heaven of all our good deeds in serving God. We should never fear rejection from God when we fail; instead, we should learn and grow from the mistake and try again.
“I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying” (Rahul Dravid):
- Biblical Figure: David
Primary Failure: Adultery and murder
Nature of Restoration: Repentance and acceptance of judgment
Ultimate Success / Legacy: Restored as King; author of Psalms; remembered as a man after God’s heart
2. Biblical Figure: Peter
Primary Failure: Denying Christ
Nature of Restoration: Personal restoration by Jesus at the Sea of Galilee
Ultimate Success / Legacy: Leader of the early church; preached at Pentecost; martyred for the faith
3. Biblical Figure: Moses
Primary Failure: Homicide and fleeing responsibility
Nature of Restoration: Encounter at the burning bush and obedience
Ultimate Success / Legacy: Deliverer of Israel; lawgiver; prophet who spoke with God
4. Biblical Figure: Paul
Primary Failure: Violent persecution of the church
Nature of Restoration: Damascus Road conversion and total surrender
Ultimate Success: Missionary to the Gentiles; author of a large portion of the New Testament
5. Biblical Figure: John Mark
Primary Failure: Abandoning a missionary journey
Nature of Restoration: Mentorship and personal growth
Ultimate Succes: Trusted companion to Paul; author of the Gospel of Mark
Source: AI
Fear loves to whisper in our hearts: “If you mess up, you’re a total failure and you’re done.” This is “a lie straight from hell”. God has used countless people for great things despite their major failures and mistakes. And if you made a major mess in your life, He can still use you, if you let Him:
“The Lord can make use of broken instruments. Indeed, he frequently prefers them, because they cannot attribute their success to their own strength” (Charles Spurgeon).
“Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again” (Proverbs 24:16).
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13–14).
“If you fell down yesterday, stand up today” (H. G. Wells). Rely upon, grace daily to empower you and the Spirit’s guidance to lead you, to rise above your past failures and shortcomings.
3. Rebuild Trust by Handing God the Worst-Case Scenario
Refusal to try and abandonment of trust in God usually stems from our mind perceiving an “over-imagined, catastrophic worst-case scenario.” Breaking agreement against fears like these often requires radical surrender of the situation to God through prayer:
“Lord, if this endeavor flops, I am afraid I will look foolish and feel devastated. I give You that fear. Even in failure, I trust that You are holding my hand.”
By surrendering the fear and outcome to God, and trusting in His character and promises, and taking action against fear through the power of grace while relying upon the Spirit’s leading, anticipatory fear of paralysis will gradually loses its grip over your life. Remember, your job is to be faithful and obedient; God is in charge of the results.
The truth is that most of what we fear never happens, and in the fears that do happen, God is sovereign and in control of it, and He makes sure “all things ultimately work together for our good and His glory” (Romans 8:28). “Worrying doesn’t prevent tomorrow’s troubles; it only robs us of today’s strength”.
God doesn’t shame your anxiety. He desires for you to cast all your cares upon Him and surrender it all to Him in faith. We must trust the God, the Creator of the Universe, is powerful and strong enough to handle what you think you cannot.
God knows how to work everything for our good. He had your entire life perfectly planned before you were born. Nothing catches Him by surprise. He is sovereign and always in control of everything: “He has the whole world in His hands.”
4. Take “Micro-Actions” to Shatter Paralysis
Fear grows when we endlessly ruminate and contemplate various worst-case scenarios of taking action, but shrinks when we take action against that fear. The longer we wait until we take micro-action to shatter paralysis, the louder the thoughts of fear of failure which consume our minds.
“Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain” (Mark Twain).
“Fear defeats more people than any other thing in the world” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). However, it doesn’t have to prevent you from achieving your dream and living the life God destined for you. Break the paralysis of fear in your mind by taking one small, non-threatening step, toward chasing your goal, then another, and repeat the process, with the objective of incrementally climbing up to the top of the mountain of fear.
As you pursue your God-given dream, as you strive to be a faithful steward daily, obey each immediate prompting of the Spirit, courageously following where He leads as you rely upon grace for strength to overcome your fears. With each step into the unknown, God is there with you, and when you realize He is good, sovereign, and control, your trust muscles strengthen.
Believe daily: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.” (Philippians 4:13). Let your faith be stronger than your fears.
God, Guide My Heart Toward a Dream That Requires Faith and Dependency Upon You to Achieve It
Managing the Six Phases of Faith While Chasing a God-Given Dream
The Faithful Steward Chasing Their God-Given Dream: Defining Success and Failure
Sources:
https://iask.ai/q/biblical-figures-who-failed-and-achieved-success-2qmf1u8
https://iask.ai/q/biblical-figures-who-failed-and-succeeded-examples-verses-q1ubkk0
https://iask.ai/q/what-does-breaking-agreement-against-fear-mean-and-entail-doing-t9vnuu8
https://iask.ai/q/please-explain-all-this-in-simple-terms-7i1cb80
https://iask.ai/q/definition-of-breaking-agreement-with-fear-2sg5j10