I remember in third form as my English Language teacher read the top essay aloud to the class, everyone was looking around, trying to figure out who had written it, and I just wanted the floor to open and swallow me up. I had broken out into a sweat, my heart was racing, and I nearly fell out my chair when she said my name at the end. Again in college, in my ethics class, I had a similar experience when my essay on Plato vs Aristotle was also read aloud.

God created us in His image, sent His Son to die to redeem us back to Himself, and I’m here trying to dull the light He has placed in me. I’ve got so many short stories gathering dust in a folder and my first attempt at a book yet unpublished, although that same English teacher encouraged me to release it. Why do we do this? Why do we fear success?

I believe it all comes down to which voice we’re tuned in to. Who are you listening to? Sometimes we act like Moses or Gideon, looking at our shortcomings, comparing ourselves to others, fixated on what category they may have placed us into, and as we do this, all we do is shift the gaze from self to others and not God. All the while we forget that He is the one who brought us the opportunity, and God will not bring us to anything and then leave us alone to figure it out (Phil 1:6).

When I removed “I can’t do it!”, “What if I fail?”, “What if I can’t meet the demand?”, and “What will people say?” I took the focus off of “I” or the “eyes” of those looking on, and realized that “greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4). It was only then that the fear started to abate. The thing is, God was there the entire time, just waiting for me to get over myself and submit my fears to Him so that He could make me into what He planned for my life (Jer 29:11).

In order to get over my fear of success, I had to get over myself. This point is vital because the flipside of fearing success because of our inadequacies is the fear of forgetting God when we are successful. Prov 30: 8-9 says it best:

“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”

In other words, I have realized that the fear of success is only when we don’t fully trust His plan for us or try to do it on our own. It’s important to really spend quality time with God in His Word so that we can get accustomed to hearing His voice and not that of fear.

Dear sister, God made us to be successful, and by this I mean fully excelling in the purpose for which He made us; displaying Him in pure excellence as we use our gifts and talents unhindered by fear or doubt. I would like to emphasize that this is not to be misunderstood as only evident in the amount of money we amass, but more so in the impact we have or legacy we leave behind. Yes God can bless us with money as part of our success, but we must always remember that whatever He blesses us with, it is to be used in wisdom and humility to honour and glorify Him. We are made in His very image; the image of excellence at its best! He has left us here to be the best, to show forth to this dark world that light of talent, skill and purpose He has placed in us, so that it will draw others to want what we have through Him. When I get out of God’s way, when I get over myself and humble myself to His will, then God is able to do marvellous things through me; but I must keep my eyes on Him, or else fear is sure to creep back in. Fear says I can’t do it. It places the focus on me. But if we ever are to be successful, we need to lift up our eyes to the source of our help (Ps 121:1-2).

Some verses which encouraged me to overcome this fear, are:

Job 23:10 “He knows the way that I take….” Who am I to buy into anything else outside of what God is showing me He has in store for me?

2 Chron 20:12 “….our eyes are upon thee.” We must keep our eyes on Him.

Ps 37:3-5 “Trust….Delight….Commit thy way unto the Lord” A life of total surrender, stemming from having a daily relationship of communion with Him.

Ps 27:14/Isai 40:31 “wait on the Lord” Let Him be our guide.

Ecc 3:14 “….whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever” Nothing can thwart God’s plan.

Lk 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” He cannot fail.

Rom 8:28 “all things” Nothing is outside of God’s scope of possibility.

There are many voices out there, but my prayer is that whenever you and I feel that fear of success again, we will hear His voice saying “This is the way, walk ye in it” Isai 30:21 KJV

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Lena Lewis works in finance but has a passion for writing and photography. She enjoys encouraging others in their walk with God via her writings. Connect with Lena online:
Writing blog : https://mysticangellen54.wordpress.com/category/spiritual-inspiration/
Photography blog: https://lfedoraphotos.wordpress.com
Personal IG: @lenzabi
Photography IG: @lm.fedoraphotos