Finding Faith in the Midst of Fear

Change is hard and I’m going through a big one.

For years I’ve prayed for a path out of teaching, and this year God answered my prayers and said it was time. So here I am, resigned from teaching, and following a new career path.

But, like I said, change is hard. And scary at times. I’m in one of those times right now.

I woke up this morning with anxiety pulsing through my body, my stomach churning, my heart racing, and my thoughts spinning. I heard the voices of doubt and fear creeping in, old stories of feeling like not enough, doubting my choices, and fearing the future.

Thankfully I’ve learned to identify those stories as lies from the enemy who wants me to fail, to give up, to believe that I’m not worthy. And they are a signal to myself that I need to address what’s underneath the anxiety.

I need to feel the feelings that are coming up, to connect with God to find peace, to give my fears and doubts to him.

With change comes so many unknowns about the future, and that’s where my fear lies. I’ve committed to following God’s path for me, but right now I can’t see what that path looks like.

I want to know where I’m going, to have control over the steps I’m taking, to have a guarantee that it will all work out.

But that’s not how faith works.

Faith means fully surrendering our desires, our need for control, and trusting God to guide us day by day, step by step.

Faith means not having all the answers but believing that God’s plan is so much better than we can imagine. Trusting that he will reveal to us exactly what we need when we need it.

His plan is perfect.

His plan is perfect, but that does not mean it is easy. He promises that there will be challenges along the way, that we will stumble and fall, that we will make mistakes because we are human.

But God also promises that he will be there with us through the hard times, the doubts, the fears, the anxiety, the unknown.

And we don’t have to know because he knows. I don’t have to have my future all mapped about because he does. I don’t have to have the answers because he does. I don’t have to be in control because he is.

And I don’t have to be afraid because he is with me and will guide me.

So I’m making the decision to give my anxiety to God. I don’t know his exact plan for my new career path, but he does. He has brought me through so many trials already and has provided for me in better ways than I could have hoped for, and I have faith that he can and will do so again.

What area of your life is causing you stress and anxiety? What would it be like to turn it over to God and allow him to take the wheel?