Do It Scared: Biblically Overcome Your Fear of Failure

Hey Friend!

Do you have a fear of failure? I think we have all battled with this at some stage in our lives. Friend, fear is just a stepping stone to success. However, the fear of failing is what is so debilitating.

We have to rise up and do things scared. Being afraid of not having the thing work out, or nobody buying the thing, or what someone may think, or judgment, or not being good enough. All of these things are unfounded and we need to push through and do it scared.

Let’s lean on some scripture to find out how we can overcome our fear of failure so we can lean into what God has got.

Overcome Your Fear of Failure With These Bible Scriptures

So I used to have this big, stinky fear of public speaking. Strange I know. Being a podcaster and having been in front of audiences of 1,000 people, you might not think so.

It stems back to high school when I was expected to present a paper or say something in front of the class. I had debilitating anxiety. My body would go cold and numb. If felt like I was hyperventilating. My throat was constricted and I could not breathe. A pretty picture isn’t it? 

The fear of public speaking was so real to me. I remember getting up once with a friend in class to say something. I pushed through and stood up. My voice was shaky and I wasn’t making any sense. My friend whispered to me, “Calm down. You’re embarrassing.” She meant it in the best way possible, but it made it even worse.

Stand on the Word of God

The truth is, this fear was completely unfounded. In all honesty, nobody even cared that I stood up to say anything. Half of the class probably wasn’t even listening. I had created this narrative in my head that I was going to fail, it was going to be bad, and everyone would laugh at me. 

This fear was so big that it kept me from standing up and ever speaking. Fast forward to my late 20s when I ended up in network marketing and I had to stand up and share my success story over and over again. It forced me to push through this big fear of public speaking. 

What are you afraid of?

What are the fears you have around failing and in what areas of your life? And why?

Looking back, there was really no need to be afraid. If only I could have stood up and stood on the word of God and been able to cultivate my public speaking gift. God had a plan and He used that fear to do something amazing, that has gotten me where I am. 

We can overcome and navigate this fear of failure so much quicker in our lives.

How Fear of Failure Presents

There are typically 3 things that people go through when they experience fear.

1. Delay or avoidance

When you are afraid of something, how often do you just delay? Maybe you are making excuses for doing a thing because you are secretly scared and you don’t even know that you are scared of failure. Maybe you’re making these excuses in your mind to validate your reasons for not doing it scared.

So, are you delaying and avoiding this thing? 

Sometimes I still avoid things. The fear of failure still creeps up. Words that have been spoken haven’t truly left me and I know that’s not who I am anymore and that’s not my story. These things are written into the cells of your brain and they are in your subconscious. 

We have to rise above the limiting beliefs and the stories and the inner critic stuff so we can push through and do it scared.

2. You overcompensate

We overcompensate through perfectionism like it has to be perfect before we do it. Just push through. Do it imperfectly and get it done. 

This could look like you being so afraid of launching a course that you spend 2 years on it instead of getting it done in 6 months or less.

3. Analysis paralysis

This could be you needing to buy another course, read 4 more books on this topic, and sit and think of all the ways this could be better so that you can avoid it and overcompensate. 

Are you doing any of these 3 things? Because if you are, you probably have a fear of failure. 

It’s okay to admit that you are scared. It’s even better to speak it out loud and lay it at the feet of Jesus. And have God lead you on how to navigate so that you can eventually overcome by faith.

How to Overcome the Fear of Failure

Failure is inevitable. 

Write down 2 times in your past when you have failed. 

One of my 2 was the failure I mentioned earlier. It truly was a hot mess express. Not only did I overcome. I made it through. It helped me to boost the lid on my speaking ability so that the next time I stood up, I was just 1% more confident. And then I was 10% more confident. Then I was 50% until I get to where I am a speaker which is a part of the call on my life.

What are some of those cases where you did fail and make it through? 

Another time was when I was learning to rollerblade. I went down a hill fast and I hit a rock and flew a foot in the air. I scraped up my knee badly and screamed bloody murder. My brother ran to get my mom who had to carry me back home.

God-Crafted outcome through fear of failure

It was an epic failure. For a while, I was so afraid of rollerblading. But my brother would go out and have so much fun and ask me to join him. It took me months to get up the courage to rollerblade with him again. Before long, I was back at it, having a blast.

You are an overcomer. You have not only failed but pushed through the failure and have risen. What did those failures teach you?

Under the failure you wrote down, write what the lesson was. How did you overcome and what did God do through that failure? 

He is a redeeming God. He is good all the time and He is sovereign. Through every single failure, there is a storyline that God had already crafted for you. There is a plan and an outcome that is built upon the back of that failure.

Won’t He do it? 

So we need to get okay with failing. You need to be okay with pushing through.

Scripture to Combat the Fear of Failure

2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God gave us a spirit, not of fear. But of power, love, and self-control.”

Our flesh is very fearful and our minds quickly take us to a place of fear because our minds want to protect us. Our flesh wants us to stay safe. God gave us the Holy Spirit who resides in every single one of us. And that spirit is one not of fear. That spirit is of God. 

We have God living inside of us through the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit has power, love, and self-control. Power – stand up in the anointing. Stand up and launch that course. In that calling. Stand up in the thing you are so afraid of right now. 

When I am operating in the spirit, I am so grounded. I am so peaceful. I am so present. And I am unafraid. I am leaning into faith no matter my circumstance. I am brave no matter what the external might appear to be. It’s not me and my flesh. It’s the Lord working through me. 

That is available to you because 2 Timothy 1:7 promises that this is the truth.

Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand. That we should walk in them.”

Put on the spirit of God and push through the fear of failure

We are God’s workmanship, His masterpiece. If God is the crafter and creator of us, shouldn’t we believe that God has put inside of us something incredible that only God could produce? 

It says that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works. Which God already prepared for us, and we should walk in them. We should get up, we should do, we should go, we should act and ask. We should say yes. And we should do all of that scared because our flesh is constantly going to be a little bit afraid but we can decide to wear the spirit of God and push through that fear. 

I want to encourage you to take a look at what you are afraid of today. I think your fear is actually the clue to your next big breakthrough. Often what I have been afraid of in my life, (minus the rollerblading) has been a stepping stone for God to use me in my fullest God-gifted authority to bless the world. 

Imagine if I didn’t push through that fear of public speaking. I wouldn’t be a podcaster and would be doing something that wasn’t fulfilling for me. I would not be living in the plan God had for my life. Your fear may actually be the floodgate to your most purposeful, fulfilling, God-led life.

My Prayer for you Friend

Lord, I pray that you would unlock your incredible anointing, your favor, and your fullness over the fears we are clutching. Help us to release these things that we’re afraid of and remind us that you already went before us. That the plan that you created before we ever set foot here is in play. And that we have a spirit, not of fear, but of power, love, and self-control, and that we are equipped to use it by the grace of God. 

Remind us that we are in Christ. There is nothing that can harm us, tear us down, or steal these gifts because they’re already in us. 

I pray that this revelation, this clarity, and this confidence over each reader in the name of Jesus. That you would push them forward to take big, audacious action and do it scared. 

Lord that you would remind us that we are here for faith, we are not here for fear. That we are unavailable to stay stuck. We are unavailable to stay small because we are of you. 

You are glorious and majestic and you do big things Lord and we are here to be chosen. We are here raising our hand to be with you on this journey. Equip us, use us, qualify us Lord, and help us rise to our God-given potential. 

We love you and we are excited.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

P.S. Also, listen to podcast episode 574 for the full training on Do It Scared: Biblically Overcome Your Fear of Failure.

APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY | GOOGLE PODCAST

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