“Fear not,” is the first thing that God speaks in the Bible when He is about to do something new. The phrase is used 80 times and the first time “fear not” appeared is in this Scripture: “After this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward'” (Gen. 15:1).
I believe that ‘fear not’ is God’s word for you in 2015. He wants to do something new for you in 2015. But these fears need to be broken over your life. On Dec. 30, 2013, I had no idea what would unfold in 2014. Here are the fears that God had to break in me.
Fear of the unknown. In February I stepped out to manage a band. I never managed or marketed a band and knew nothing about recording in a studio or producing a music video. I only knew how to pick up the phone and talk to someone about an idea. On Wednesday, I sent an email with an idea. The next day, Samuel Noel had written an original song.
On Saturday, I called recording studios in Kansas City. At 11:30 AM I talked to a studio that said if the band was in his studio by 1:30 that day that he could lay down the trax. The new group of 5 teenage boys had never recorded in a studio. The next day at 7 AM, they were in a music video shoot in the snow because they didn’t want to miss church that started at 10 AM. That night the music video went live and generated over 3,000 views in the next few days.
Frankly the whole process intimidated me, yet I had a sense of adventure as I read the reactions to the song, “Circumstances.” That song moved many people to tears and gave them hope. The songwriter, Samuel Noel, was 16 at the time. He is one of the most gifted young men that I know at my church. I had no idea that my son, Alex and the lead singer, would have 14 performances in 2014. Those performances and ministry opportunities were not on my calendar on Dec. 30, 2013. Yet when God broke that “fear of the unknown” in me, opportunities that I only dreamed about opened up.
When God set me free from the free of the unknown, He set my sons free to pursue their dream in music. My 19-year-old son, Chris, is growing as a musician and a songwriter. Alex has stepped up into another realm as a servant-leader in music. Let God set you free from the unknown so you can step into opportunities that aren’t even on your radar right now.
Fear of failure. “And God heard the boy’s voice. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is'” (Gen. 21:17). The birth of Ishmael could be considered the “epic fail” for Abraham. Yet God redeemed Abraham’s failure and heard Ishmael’s cry. God had a destiny for Ishmael.
The fear of failure has plagued me for most of my life. The way that I fight this fear is by obeying God. I’ve written a book that has yet to be published and put it on the back burner. I was afraid of failure, that no one would want to read the book and since the book is about parenting, that my children would suddenly go haywire.
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