How to Fight Your Fear of Failure so God Can Take You Further

What keeps me stagnant in my faith is often not the fear of unknowns but the fear of failure. It has taken years of wrestling to understand that my hesitancy to say yes to where God is calling me lies in my propensity to trust in my own performance over his presence. So, I stay put. Grumble. Worry. But in his Word, God reminds us that we are called to go deeper on our journey of faith, and he promises to lead us himself. So, if you feel stagnant today, stuck even, allow these encouraging reminders to help you fight your fear of failure so God can take you further.

God went first.

We want someone to go first. A leader at our church recently reminded me of this concept as she described a time when her friends wanted to try cliff jumping. A college student, she was prepared to take the risk herself but wanted someone else to jump first. What a helpful analogy for our spiritual journey. When presented with an opportunity to venture deeper into our faith, we want to know how it turns out for someone else before committing.

The good news for us is that God went first. He sent Jesus, his only Son, who demonstrated complete obedience on earth suffering in our place. Jesus went to the depths first: the depths of pain, suffering, love, and compassion. But he did it to bring us depths of joy.

Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (ESV)”

One of the single most common causes of our fear of failure is rooted in our fear of man. We want to be esteemed, but if we follow where God leads, what will others think of us? What if we really aren’t capable of that dream God’s placed in our heart or letting go of that earthly treasure?

Let’s remember our Savior—the one who was obedient unto death yet now reigns exalted. If he went first and promised to be with us all the way, let’s allow him to take the lead so that we may follow with great assurance. God promises to take us deeper than we would venture on our own, and on the other side of the deep pain and costly obedience, we, too, will find that deep joy and peace.

God usually calls you somewhere before you know why.

For thirteen years, our family called New York home, but for years, I didn’t know why. Growing up primarily in the South, life as a family in the Northeast did not make sense to me on paper, and I was fearful about the future. Over time, as our family grew beyond the comforts of a two-bedroom apartment, life decisions grew stressful, along with financial and physical constraints.

Looking back, however, my fear of failure was replaced with a deepening faith in dependence on the Lord. A decade later, it has become clearer all that God was weaving into our stories—testimonies of faithful provision in rich relationships, clarity of spiritual convictions, and a plethora of precious memories.

It was during those years we were invited to partner alongside a church plant and to water the seeds of discipleship, praying for a harvest in God’s time. Through many trials and heartbreaks, it was during those years of wondering that my husband and I learned how to live on a mission for others. Even now, our learning to respond with a faithful yes without a guaranteed outcome birthed a ministry to help others steward their time and finances faithfully.

But at the time, I didn’t know why we lived so far away from family. I didn’t know why God continued to bless us with children we weren’t sure how to fit into our apartment or budget. Sometimes where God calls us doesn’t fit into our preferences.

Throughout scripture, we see God call his children like Abraham, Moses, and Paul to go on seemingly impossible journeys before giving them a complete picture of why so we, too, can follow their examples. Even when we don’t know the why or how, we can learn to pray like Moses in Exodus 33:15, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us…(NIV). We can learn to rely on his presence to guide and comfort us through the unknowns. Because in Christ, God makes it clear he will go where he calls, so we can shed fear and say yes.

Our faith is strengthened beyond the boundaries of our comforts and limitations. So, whatever you feel nudged to say yes to faithfully in this season, take your next step deeper in faith and trust that in time, God will reveal the why.

God will use your failure, so remember to pray.

Perhaps the greatest way to overcome our fear of failure is to remember that God promises to use our failure to complete his purposes in our lives. God does not call us to perfection but to trust in his purposes. Just like our family’s story of navigating failure and fear while raising a family through unknowns, we can navigate our weaknesses considering God’s known character.

God is working through all circumstances, even our failures. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV) So, where he calls, we can surely go.

We are also invited to pray for God’s favor amid our failures. Be encouraged that God can even use your failure along the way for his glory and our great joy. This quote from Corrie Ten Boom reminds us why it’s important to pray as we navigate our fears.

“The wonderful thing about prayer is that you leave a world of not being able to do something and enter God’s realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for His almighty power: Nothing is too small for His love.”

Even now, there are circumstances where the outcome is uncertain. These days of fighting against my fear of failure are exhausting. Are you, too? I pray these reminders about God bring comfort and hope.

Allow this passage from Colossians 2:7 to strengthen your resolve for your next faithful step, “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then, your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” (NIV)

As our roots grow deeper in a God who went first and can use our worst failures to produce our deepest joy, we can replace our fear of failure with praise for his presence. We can take our next faithful step, knowing he will use it all to accomplish his purposes in your life and mine.