I’ve been a little fearful my entire life. From as early as I can remember, I was afraid of getting hurt. Afraid of not fitting in. Afraid of not being enough. Afraid that I would fail. To be honest, I didn’t realize I had so much fear until I upended my life in Chicago and moved to Minnesota to got to seminary. I was intent on taking the steps I needed to find my dream vocation without much thought to what that would mean. I moved to Minnesota in a flurry and was excited for my new adventure until…

Until I realized that I knew almost no one in the state of Minnesota. Until I realized that my family was over 400 miles away. Until I realized that I needed to find a church and friends and community on my own. And then, that’s when I realized that fear was driving my decisions. I had two reactions to this thought. First, how do I fix it? (I’m a solver) and How did I get here?

Perhaps all this fear is what drove me to dive into Peter’s walk on the water with Jesus. I resonated with the guy who was impulsively trying to do what he had never done before. I resonated with the desire to walk with Jesus even though I had no idea of what that looked like. And in the end, I wanted to be the kind of person who chose to step with courage and lived with faith not fear.

But if you’re anything like me, you may still have some questions. You want to choose faith over fear, but how do you get there. If that’s you, I’ve got you covered with a few steps that help me consistently choose courageous faith over my fear.

Gut level honesty about my fear

Back when I realized that I was making a lot of decisions out of fear, I was hustling through life and rarely took a moment to slow my pace and consider what was happening on the inside. In fact, most of my life I found ways to avoid slowing down to feel my feelings and identify what was happening on the inside. For me, it was much easier to keep moving or even choosing distractions over gut level honesty. What helped me start stepping with faith over fear? Being honest about what I was really afraid of and my true feelings. Fear is natural especially when you’re stepping into something new or beyond your natural abilities or unknown. But that’s where God comes in. The story of Peter reminds us that it’s God’s power not ours that propels us forward. The story of Peter reminds us that keeping our eyes on what could go wrong (like sinking in the water) only defeats us. The story of Peter reminds us that Jesus is waiting in the waters of those things we’ve never attempted to walk with us and help us do those things we’ve never even thought of before. It all starts with getting honest with what fears are driving our decisions.

deepening our faith

When I rashly decided I was leaving everyone I know to embark on a new adventure, I had no idea what was ahead. I had no idea how many nights I would pick up a seed of courage and go to a church event only to return home crying and asking myself what I did to my life. I had no idea that life in Minnesota would get better day by day. But mostly, I had no idea that God would strengthen my faith muscles and help me grow in my relationship with Him for those steps. The one thing that season of my life taught me was to make space for God. Some days it was a 5 minute devotional. Some days it was extended time in His Word and in prayer. And sometimes it was praying as I entered new spaces seeking new friends and new places of belonging. Growing my faith didn’t happen overnight. But as I made a space for God to speak and trusted Him with next steps — I found myself cultivating a courage that could only be defined as faith-filled.

One baby step at a time

I still make some decisions out of fear. There are days when I don’t slow down and say hello to what I’m feeling on the inside. But here’s a little life philosophy I follow. God can’t steer a parked car. I can’t take credit for it — a good friend would quote this to me every time I felt immobilized by fear. But at One Foot, I’ve changed it up a bit and preach about one baby step. Your next step in choosing faith over fear doesn’t have to be as huge as walking on water. Let’s be honest I’m not sure that Peter was thinking that one through (although he may have had the right idea with Jesus standing right there). But the reality is that your first step doesn’t have to be a huge one. It can be a baby step. Maybe it’s researching a career you might like or applying for that new job or attending that new Bible study by yourself. I’ve held this philosophy since I moved here over 30 years ago (let’s not do the math)…just one step in the direction of where God is calling. Just one step of courage can make all the difference. Just one step of faith when you only have a seed of faith. Just one step moves you toward choosing faith over fear.

The one thing I didn’t talk about in choosing faith over fear was finding a community I belonged in. A community that would encourage the baby steps. A community that would remind me of who God made me to be. A community that would keep me accountable to the commitments I had made to step with courageous obedience. I found one here in Minnesota. It took me a while, but it was worth the wait. Choosing faith over fear isn’t easy. Choosing courageous faith takes work and people and well faith. And if you’re ready to take a baby step into exploring what faith over fear looks like in your life I’d like to invite you to my next Group Coaching workshop on February 8th where we’ll talk and process what choosing faith over fear looks like. The Group Coaching Workshops are my favorite part about One Foot mostly because it’s a safe place to come as you are, explore what baby steps look like, and find a like-minded community of mid-life women who love Jesus and want to live with courageous faith just like Peter. Hope to see you there!