Afraid

Afraid

Do not be afraid. . . . For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

SEVERAL YEARS BACK my daughter had dance tryouts for the competition teams at the studio she attends. As I watched her get into line with other little girls her age, all dressed in black leotards with their hair pulled tight into buns, then scurry into a closed room to be judged, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous and excited for her.

Jasmine already had a lot of dreams and things she was passionate about, and as her parent, I wanted to support her. But even with all her personality, she confided in me that she was nervous: What if she didn’t make the team?

I know that feeling. Fear has always played a big part in my life and often—too often—my decisions. I looked her in the eyes and told her I am often afraid too. And then she asked, “What do you do?” My answer to her was the same one I tell myself often: Do it afraid.

I went on to explain that fear is a normal part of life and sometimes doing new things makes us nervous, but we don’t have to let fear dictate what we do. Often we chase our dreams, even while fear is there alongside us. Fear doesn’t dissipate just because we want it to. Sometimes we close our eyes, take a deep breath, say a little prayer, and do it afraid.

I reminded her that I believed she was capable. That even if she failed, she was not a failure. That there was no shame in trying. And she seemed to soak up these truths.

These reminders aren’t just for her, but for all of us. We can all do scary things. We were meant to dream big and live life to the fullest. Fear is mentioned often in the Bible, but only in the context that we do not need to allow it to control us. Our lives do not have to be defined by our fears, not if we’re willing to take God at his word, trusting that he goes with us. And deciding to just simply do it afraid.

Lord, thank you that with you, we can be brave, even when we are afraid. Amen.

-Kendra

One Good Step: Where has fear been holding you back? Today, simply choose to do it afraid.