Do It Afraid

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Overcoming My Worst Nightmare

In all of the dreaming and planning that came along with God’s life-altering call on my life, there is one thing that I never imagined having to overcome: FEAR. I’m not talking about butterflies in your stomach. I’m talking about paralyzing, breath-taking, heart-racing, giving-your-breakfast-back terror.

I have had normal moments of anxiety and nerves throughout my life, but when I surrendered to God’s pull on my heart to change my life direction from local church ministry to ministering to women on a national scale, I began experiencing panic attacks unlike anything I had ever known.

I literally wondered at times if I had a medical condition. A friend who had begun a similar journey about a year previous gave me a very helpful piece of advice:

“Do it afraid.”

Stepping Out in Faith

If you are truly following a God-given passion, that dream is going to be far bigger than you or your capabilities. It is in this way that God gets all the credit and He is passionate about His glory. The Bible talks of this happening in the lives of two of the disciples in Acts 4:13:

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” 

That’s the kind of life that I want to live. I want people to know that the power and accomplishments seen in my life are coming directly from the throne of Heaven. But in order for that to happen, I have to be willing to face my fear. I must be willing to attack the impossible, knowing that without God’s grace and power that I will fail. I have to “do it afraid.”

Attack The Enemy’s Action Plan

While my friend’s advice was good, I feel that it was incomplete. God’s Word says that He

“has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) Tweet this

I knew that this fear was not part of God’s plan. The enemy’s action plan “Stop It Before It Starts” was raining down on me day and night and I needed a place of shelter and a weapon to combat the attacks. I asked God for help and He gave me Isaiah 26:3-4:

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” Tweet some more

I pulled out several Bible study tools and dissected those verses word by word. (See “Perfect Peace” – link below.) What resonated most with me was the word “stayed”… a continual holding on to or leaning into God no matter how I feel or what my circumstances look like.

There will be days that fear seems larger than life, but when we continually choose to take that fear to the feet of Jesus, He will give to us His perfect peace.

Fear is a purpose-killer. What else do you think keeps people from stepping out into God’s calling on their lives? Leave a comment here

About Donya

Donya Dunlap is a writer, graphic designer, speaker and abolitionist that desires to communicate God’s unfathomable love to women through teaching Bible studies, speaking engagements, and writing books and articles. Her first book, Forgetting the Fairy Tale, is scheduled for publication in the winter of 2012/2013. Connect with her on her Blog, Twitter or Facebook.

Check out similar posts from Donya: A Supernatural Testimony | God-Sized Dreams | Perfect Peace