Fear.
It’s there, whispering to you in the dark. Telling you you’re wasting your time, that you’ll never make it, that no one cares what you have to say. It eats at you when you try to write, telling you those words you just crafted are garbage. It crawls up your spine when you finally work up the courage to send out a proposal for review, telling you the only response you’ll get is rejection. Or ridicule. But you know what?
Fear is a liar. A deceiver. And one of the most effective weapons the enemy uses to undermine writers as they seek to accomplish the task God has given them. So let’s deal with fear’s lies the way Jesus did—with God’s truths. Let’s study, maybe even memorize so we can use them to ignore fear. To turn from it and remind our quaking hearts that with God, fear has no power. Here are some of God’s Truths for:
Writers’ Obstacle #3: Fear
Leviticus 26:6—And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid.
Deuteronomy 7:9–Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.
Isaiah 41:10–Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Joshua 1:9–Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Isaiah 43:1-3–But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you…he who formed you…“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
1 Peter 5:6-11–So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith…In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.
My friends, that roaring lion loves to slip up next to you and let loose one of those terrifying roars right in your ear, so you feel it down into your bones. But your God is there. Let Him free you from the bonds of fear, so you can walk in peace and confidence. He’s got this, friends. And He’s got you.
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Thank you for the reminder, Karen, that fear is a lie of the enemy. He has no power. But we know the One Who has all the power. We need to be reminded – often.
And thank you!
Amen, Judith. And thank you for the acrostic!
Never has a blog post been better timed. Bless you for being faithful to post this.
Kathleen, I’m so glad it helped. Sending you hugs today.
Karen,
Thanks for taking the time to get these verses together. Right now some circumstances around me are provoking fear and anxiety. But early this morning the Lord gave me a picture in my mind of a fog of anxiety-producing things–and the fog cleared slightly to show the Lord right there in the middle, reaching out to me to come to His side. So many verses of Scripture show the Lord with us. He is not “way out there”, but He is alongside us.
Amen, Peggy! Thank you so much for sharing this.
Karen, SO many of my favorite encouragement passages in your post. Thank you for the reminder.
I always loved the response of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to King Neb when he threatened them with the furnace.
My paraphrase, “Mister King, we have no need to defend ourselves before you. If you toss us into the fire, our God is able to rescue us from your hand. But EVEN IF HE DOESN’T, know this – we will never serve your gods or worship the idol you have set up.”
Gotta love those guys.
Karen,
Thank you. I needed Joshua 1:9 today. Discouragement over my second WIP in the face of plot holes bigger than an event horizon and alpha comments suggesting the characters just shoot themselves (LOL) … I readied to put it in a circular file.
More than you know, thank you for the words you write and the Scripture that meets us–each in our own place. The ‘be strong and courageous’ part comes after I have overcome my discouragement (just did, thank you), beat that WIP into submission and send the final MS out the door or email.
Karen, you could sell “tattoos for writers” with these thoughts! Ha ha But seriously, this is a post I’m bookmarking for the hard days. Really appreciate your words and the Word you shared. Thank you!