hey everyone! today my beautiful friend allison will be guest posting for our series on confidence! i love allison's sweet, energetic, and adventurous spirit, and i am so thankful to her for sharing her wisdom on confidence. check out her awesome blog!
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Hi I'm Allison from over at Nestful of love. I'm so happy to be taking over Courtney's adorable blog today. I will be honest and tell you that when Courtney asked me to do a guest post on the fear of failure I think my heart may have stopped for a minute. Gut check time. Girls...this is a big struggle for me so I'm excited to share a few things God has been teaching me lately...
On the outside people would probably assume that I'm a pretty confident gal. I have a successful career, an attractive and devoted husband, friends and family I love and a Savior who is crazy about me yet I am still afraid of failing and what people will think of me if they see me fail. I know 100% that the fear instilled in us is not from God, but from the devil. When you have a heart for the Lord you have a big target on your back. "He (the devil) will do all he can to wear you down with discouragement, sickness, confusion, guilt, strife, FEAR, depression, or defeat." (Power of a Praying Woman)
Why do we fear failure when we are created by a powerful God who has already won the battle? In Jeremiah 29:11 God promises us a future filled with hope not fear.
Source: thoughtquestions.com via Allison on Pinterest
When I think of fear, I instantly think of Peter. He was one of Jesus' best friends and disciples while he was here on Earth. Peter lived his life for God and had a deep love for Jesus, but then things got tough. When Jesus was arrested Peter was recognized as a disciple and friend of Jesus and was asked by others if he knew Jesus. Peter denied him not once, not twice, but three times out of FEAR. He was fearful of what others would think of him and do to him if they knew the truth. Think about all Peter missed out on and how much he must have hated himself after he denied the creator of the universe because he was afraid! I think about how many times I have held back for fear of what someone would think of me...what are we thinking? The only person that truly matters is Christ and if He is asking us to do something we need to do it and trust that He will help us succeed. If we fail then we have to believe it was not God's will or in his timing.
Source: 26.media.tumblr.com via Allison on Pinterest
Back to Peter because his story did not end in shame or fear. He asked the Holy Spirit for help and was given boldness and confidence to speak the truth. Something we forget to do often is ask for help. In Stormie Omartian's book The Power of a Praying Woman she suggests praying daily and putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-18) so that you can face whatever the devil throws at you. "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:10-11
Source: google.com via Dana on Pinterest
We can have confidence because we are each a child of God and the devil can't stop us no matter how he tries to contort our fears into prison cells to hold us back from doing God's will. I hope each of you can break free from the fears that are holding you back.
Source: addicted2success.com via Sarah on Pinterest
God has an amazing life planned for you and the devil wants to steal that from you. I pray that with God's help you can shake free of the fears that are holding you back!
"It's hard to dance with the devil on your back so shake him off!" -Florence and the Machine
Thanks for you insight Allison! Lots of wisdom here =)
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me Courtney! I needed to reflect on this topic!
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