Fear Can Be Your Call to Action
There are seasons in life when it feels as though you are surrounded by a sea of fear.
Fear about your health.
Fear about your finances.
Fear about your family.
Fear about your career.
Fear about your future.
Fear that your dreams may never become reality.
Sometimes the waves seem so big that you can’t see a way out.
Fear can make you feel like you are drowning under the weight of circumstances, with no lifeboat in sight. Anxiety can keep you awake at night, keep you in bed long after you should have gotten up, or cause you to respond to people and situations with anger, frustration, or words you later regret.
And the longer fear goes unchecked, the more power we tend to give it.
But here is the truth:
Fear will show up, but it doesn’t have to take over.
You may not be able to control whether fear comes knocking at your door, but you can decide whether you are going to invite it in, give it a seat at the table, and allow it to make your decisions.
Fear can either consume you—or you can consume the fear and conquer it.
Fear can be real, or it can be imagined. And sometimes, the more attention we give our fears, the larger they become. What started as a thought can become a mountain. What began as a possibility can start to feel like a certainty.
That’s why we have to become intentional about what we allow to occupy our minds.
Our lives often reflect our dominant thoughts.
Think about negative, fear-producing thoughts as a “sometimeish” person.
You know the type.
They call you sometimes. They show up sometimes. They encourage you sometimes. They disappear when you need them most. They are inconsistent, unreliable, unpredictable, and only show up when it suits them.
A “sometimeish” person isn’t someone you would build your life around.
So why would we allow “sometimeish” thoughts to become the foundation of our lives?
Fear-based thoughts aren’t always telling us the truth. They don’t deserve automatic access to our decisions, our confidence, our dreams, or our future.
God has not called us to live imprisoned by fear.
When the sea of fear begins to rise, we have a choice.
We can panic.
Or we can pause, breathe, pray, and begin moving forward trusting that all things will work out as they should.
Here are six things to do when a sea of fear is raging all around you.
- Shine the Light on Your Fear
Fear grows in the dark.
One of the most powerful things you can do is bring your fear into the light.
What is the thing that is frightening you the most right now?
Is it your body? Your finances? Your marriage? Your career? Your children? Your dreams? Your future? Yourself?
Name it.
Get honest about it.
Sometimes we spend so much energy saying, “I’m scared,” that we never stop to ask ourselves what exactly we are afraid of.
Once you identify the fear, examine it.
Ask yourself:
- Is this thought actually true?
- Do I know this for certain?
- Am I responding to facts or assumptions?
- Is there another way to look at this situation?
- What is within my control?
- What would the strongest, wisest version of me say about this?
Most importantly, remember this:
A thought is not synonymous with truth.
Just because you think something doesn’t mean it is true.
Fear will tell you, “Something terrible is going to happen.”
Truth asks, “What evidence do you have?”
Fear says, “You can’t do this.”
Faith says, “God is with me.”
Fear says, “It’s over.”
Faith says, “God is still writing my story.”
Think of your thoughts like clouds passing across the sky. Some are dark. Some are heavy. Some may even look threatening.
But clouds move.
You don’t have to chase every cloud.
You can observe the thought, acknowledge it, and let it pass.
You are not every thought that enters your mind.
- Let Go of Mental Distractions
When fear takes over, your mind can become a battlefield.
You replay conversations.
You imagine worst-case scenarios.
You analyze what could happen.
You think about what you should have done.
You worry about what might happen tomorrow.
And suddenly, you aren’t living in the present anymore.
You’re living inside a future that hasn’t happened.
Sometimes you have to interrupt the cycle.
Change your environment. Take a walk. Call someone who brings encouragement into your life. Listen to uplifting music. Laugh. Read something inspiring. Write down what’s on your mind.
There is something powerful about putting your thoughts on paper.
Sometimes your mind keeps repeating a thought because it is desperately trying to make sure you don’t forget it.
Write it down.
Tell yourself:
“I’ve acknowledged this thought. I don’t have to carry it around with me all day.”
Give your mind permission to rest.
And don’t underestimate the power of movement.
Take a walk. Get outside. Breathe deeply. Look around you. Pay attention to where you are instead of where your fear is telling you that you might be.
You don’t have to solve your entire life today.
Sometimes you simply need to get out of your head and back into the moment.
- Value Courage Over Security
Most of us naturally want to feel safe.
We want certainty. We want guarantees. We want to know that everything is going to work out before we take the first step.
But life rarely gives us that kind of guarantee.
Sometimes we remain in situations that make us unhappy simply because they are familiar.
We hold onto relationships that no longer serve us because change feels frightening.
We postpone dreams because failure feels worse than regret.
We stay in jobs that no longer brings us joy because they are predictable and safe.
We confuse familiarity with security. But familiar doesn’t always mean safe.
Sometimes the greatest danger is staying exactly where you are because you’re too afraid to discover who you could become.
That’s why you have to choose courage. Courage doesn’t mean you aren’t afraid.
Courage means you move forward even when you are.
And here’s a different way to look at fear:
Let fear become your call to action.
If you’re afraid about something that is within your control, make a plan.
If you’re afraid about something outside of your control, make a plan for how you will respond if it happens.
You may not be able to control the storm, but you can prepare your boat.
You may not know exactly what is waiting on the other side, but you can trust God enough to take the next step.
- When Your Adrenaline Is High, Act
Fear loves indecision.
The longer you sit and think about doing something, the easier it becomes to talk yourself out of doing it.
You think, then you overthink, then you analyze, then you imagine everything that could go wrong. And eventually, you do nothing.
That’s why action matters.
When you feel that initial surge of energy telling you that something needs to change, act.
Not recklessly, intentionally, have a plan. Set clear goals. Break those goals into manageable steps. Know what you need to do next—and then do it.
Action creates momentum. Momentum creates confidence. And confidence begins to weaken fear.
You don’t have to accomplish everything at once. Sometimes the victory is simply taking the next step.
Make the phone call, submit the application.
Start the business plan.
Have the conversation.
Go back to school.
Write the book.
Apply for the position.
Make the appointment.
Take the walk.
Start.
You don’t have to see the entire staircase to take the first step, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sometimes God gives you enough light for the step you’re standing on.
Take it.
- Challenge Your Anxiety
If you want to become stronger, you have to practice being courageous.
One way to do that is to intentionally do something that stretches you.
It doesn’t have to be something huge. It might be speaking up in a meeting, making a difficult phone call, trying something you’ve never done.
It could also be, setting a boundary, walking into a room where you don’t know anyone, applying for an opportunity you don’t think you’ll get, starting something you’ve been putting off.
Whatever it is, challenge yourself.
Because every time you face something that scares you and discover that you survived it, you teach yourself something important:
“I can do hard things.”
Courage grows through practice, you don’t wake up one morning fearless. You become courageous one decision at a time, one step at a time, one uncomfortable conversation at a time, one “yes” to yourself at a time.
Eventually, the barriers that once seemed impossible begin to shrink.
And as fear gets smaller, your possibilities get bigger.
Don’t allow your comfort zone to become your prison.
- Remember the Bigger Picture
Fear has a way of making today feel like forever, but today is not forever.
Whatever you are facing right now is a chapter—not the entire book.
Think back to something you were terrified about five years ago, chances are, you survived it, you made it through, and perhaps you even became stronger because of it.
So ask yourself:
Will this matter a year from now?
What about five years from now?
What about ten years from now?
And then ask an even more important question:
What will my future self wish I had done today?
Fear often asks, “What if I fail?”
But sometimes we need to ask:
“What if I never try?”
What if the dream you’re afraid to pursue is connected to the very purpose you’ve been praying about?
What if the opportunity you’re afraid to take is the doorway to something greater?
What if the thing you’re calling fear is actually an invitation to grow?
Don’t allow the fear of what might happen to rob you of what could happen.
When the Waves Rise, Remember Who Controls the Sea
When a sea of fear is raging all around you, remember this:
You are bigger than the fear you are facing, the raging sea if fear, and your God is bigger than both.
Fear may continue to show up. You may still have moments when your heart races and your mind begins to wander toward the worst possible outcome.
That’s okay! Being afraid doesn’t mean you lack faith, it means you’re human.
Faith doesn’t always mean that you don’t see the storm. Sometimes faith means you see the storm and choose to trust God anyway.
When fear says, “You can’t,” remind yourself who called you.
When fear says, “You’re alone,” remind yourself who walks with you.
When fear says, “It’s impossible,” remind yourself that God specializes in what looks impossible to us.
Immerse yourself in God’s Word.
Pray.
Be intentional about what you allow into your mind. Surround yourself with people who speak life instead of fear. And when the waves begin to rise, don’t surrender your position.
Stand. Breathe. Pray. Plan. Move. Trust.
Let fear become your call to action. You don’t have to wait until you feel fearless to move forward. Move forward while you’re afraid.
Because courage isn’t the absence of fear, courage is deciding that fear will not have the final word.
The sea may be raging. The waves may be high. The wind may be loud.
But remember:
You are not without a Savior in the storm.
God is still in control.
And the same God who brought you through everything behind you is already in your tomorrow.
So, keep going.
Keep believing.
Keep moving.
And when fear comes knocking again, look it in the face and say:
“You may be here, but you don’t get to lead me.”
Fear may surround you, but it does not have to rule you!