How to Overcome Fear and Walk in Your God-Given Calling

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." - Psalm 147:3 KJV

Fear has a sneaky way of sounding wise. It tells you that you need more time, experience, followers, training, or proof that the thing God placed on your heart will actually work. And before long, what started as "I am just being careful" becomes months (or even years) of standing still.

I know because I struggle with imposter syndrome all the time. There are moments when I look at what God has allowed me to build and still wonder, Who am I to teach this? Who am I to lead this? What if someone else knows more than I do? What if I mess it up?

And yet...God continues to remind me that confidence does not come from believing I am capable of doing everything perfectly. Confidence comes from knowing Who called me.

Fear Can Keep You Stuck in a Place God Never Asked You to Stay

Fear itself does not always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like:

• Endlessly researching instead of starting

• Rewriting the same plan for the tenth time

• Refusing to publish because your manuscript "isn't quite ready"

• Hiding your business because someone might judge you

• Comparing yourself to women who are five years ahead of you

• Convincing yourself that you need another certification before you can serve anyone

• Praying for another sign when God has already told you what the next step is

That last one can be uncomfortable. Prayer is essential. We should absolutely seek the Lord before making decisions. But sometimes we are not actually asking God for direction anymore. We are asking Him to remove every possibility of discomfort before we obey. And He may not do that.

Scripture tells us, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

Fear does not get to become the decision-maker.

Sometimes Fear Is Connected to a Place That Still Needs Healing

Psalm 147:3 says, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."

I love that Scripture does not pretend wounds do not exist. God seems them. He binds them. He heals them. And sometimes the fear showing up in our businesses, books, ministries, and callings is connected to something deeper.

Maybe you were told your ideas were stupid. Maybe someone constantly criticized you. Maybe a business failed. Maybe you trusted someone and got burned. Maybe you have experienced rejection. Maybe you have spent years believing that being humble means staying quiet.

Those experiences can absolutely affect how confidently we show up today. But healing does not always have to happen before obedience. Sometimes God is healing you while you walk. You can still be nervous and take the next step. You can still have questions and take the next step. You can still struggle with imposter syndrome and take the next step. You can still be healing and take the next step.

Prayer Should Lead Us Toward Obedience

There is a difference between moving recklessly and moving faithfully. We do not need to manufacture our own calling. We do not need to force doors open that God has closed. But when the Lord has consistently placed something on your heart, prayer should eventually lead to action.

James 2:26 KJV reminds us, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

Your works do not earn God's favor, but genuine faith does produce movement. Maybe your next obedient step is not launching the entire business. Maybe it is finally creating the Facebook page. Maybe it is writing 500 words of your manuscript. Maybe it is researching your audience. Maybe it is recording the reel. Maybe it is submitting the article. Maybe it is asking for help. Maybe it is finally admitting, "God has called me to this, and I need to stop pretending He hasn't."

The next step dose not have to be enormous. It just needs to be obedient.

Faith and Strategy Can Exist in the Same Room

Something else I have had to learn as a Christian business owner is that trusting God does not mean refusing to use practical tools. We can pray and research. We can trust God and build a marketing strategy. We can follow the calling and learn how people are searching for the thing we feel called to create.

For example, I use Keywords Everywhere when I am researching blog posts, podcast titles, hashtags, and other marketing content. Sometimes my brain can turn marketing into a giant guessing game...

Does anybody care about this topic?

Am I using the words people actually search for?

What should I call this?

Keyword research gives me actual information to work with instead of letting fear (or overthinking) make every decision.

That is actually how this blog post began. I knew I wanted to write about fear, calling, healing, and obedience. Then I researched what people were already searching for and discovered that phrases around how to overcome fear had strong search interest.

The research did not determine the message. It helped me steward the message.

If you create content for your business, ministry, blog, podcast, or future book and constantly find yourself wondering what people are actually searching for, you can check out Keywords Everywhere here: https://keywordseverywhere.com?fpr=lz8ulr

Affiliate disclosure: If you purchase through my link, MJD may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend tools I genuinely use and believe may be helpful.

You Do Not Need to Become Fearless

I do not think the goal is to reach a magical point where nothing scares us anymore. The goal is to stop requiring the absence of fear before we obey.

Philippians 1:6 KJV says, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Notice where that confidence is placed. Not in us. In Him.

God is the One doing the work. God is the One healing. God is the One correcting. God is the One leading. God is the One who already knows exactly what this calling will look like five years from now.

Our job is to remain close enough to Him to hear the next instruction...and courageous enough to obey it.

Maybe You Don't Need the Whole Plan Yet

If fear has been keeping you stuck, I want you to ask yourself a simpler question today...

What is the next obedient step?

Not the 28 steps. Not your five-year plan. Not how you are going to make six figures. Not whether your book will become a bestseller. Not whether everyone will understand your calling.

Just...what has God already put in front of me that I keep avoiding because I am afraid?

Pray about that. Write it down. Then do the next faithful thing.

You Do Not Have to Build Alone

One of the reasons we have created the FREE Called Creator Community is because walking out your calling can feel incredibly lonely. The community is specifically designed to help Christian women identify what God may be calling them toward...and recognize what may be stunting their own growth within that calling.

We talk about fear, business, obedience, writing, growth, faith, and what it looks like to keep taking the next step when you do not have everything figured out yet.

If that sounds like the kind of community you have been looking for, I would love to welcome you.

Join the FREE Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thecalledcreatorcommunity

You do not need to show up with a perfect plan. Come ready to pray, learn, participate, and take the next obedient step.

Podcast Throwback: Grace Over Doubt with Terra Utter

And if imposter syndrome has been whispering particularly loudly lately, I want to point you toward one of our earlier episodes of Christian Authors with Marilyn Jeanne Designs.

In Episode 03, Grace Over Doubt, Terra and I talk about the silent battle so many purpose-driven Christians face: knowing God has called us while still questioning whether we are qualified enough to walk into that calling.

We discuss doubt, leadership, faith, strategy, and what it looks like to stop shrinking from spaces God has already called you to enter. Because sometimes you don't need another motivational speech telling you to “believe in yourself.”

Sometimes you need to remember:

God called you.

God can heal you.

God can equip you.

And God can teach you how to faithfully steward the next step.

So pray. Heal. Learn. Make the plan. And then (with fear still trying to whisper in the background if necessary) obey anyway.

https://youtu.be/ZwJqVSjPD_E?si=QypWtK6PXxi_0ynY