Your Anxiety Is LYING to you! You’re More Qualified Than You Think.
Earlier this week, I made a HUGE announcement on Instagram I never expected to make…at least for another few months or years. I should’ve made this announcement a LONG time ago but to be honest, my fear, anxiety, and excuses talked me out of it so many times, I never made it at all until now.
This week, I announced that I’ve written my FIRST devotional ebook ever titled Kept Calm: Experiencing God’s Peace While Overcoming Anxiety (It’s available NOW and you can purchase it by clicking the button below).
Writing this devotional ebook was a challenge because I had to get over my anxiety and fear of sharing my experience and victories as a Christian that battled anxiety for YEARS. It was written in the shadows of my social media hiatus, the long wilderness seasons that seemed like it had no end while doing the necessary heart work to get healed from it. I thank God that He sent people in my life that prayed me through and pushed me to keep going forward to launch the ebook when I felt like going back to my comfortable place of shrinking back and hiding.
When I launched the ebook, I was celebrated. The texts, private messages, and emails poured in. I even celebrated thanking God that I accomplished something that He’d been trying to get me to do for the longest time. Over 30+ years of battling with anxiety, finally being free from it and getting to write about it felt good. On top of that, I’ve always wanted to write and publish a book whether physically or digitally.
This was a dream; finally launching the book God has called me to write.
However, in the midst of all the well wishes and congratulatory messages, I started to feel strange. This different kind of anxiety started to steadily rise up. It was anxiety but it was blended with guilt.
I felt I was this imposter who wasn’t remotely qualified to speak or write about something that I probably should have a degree in. It wasn’t before long I started to hear THAT voice saying:
How are you speaking on anxiety when you’re not even a therapist?
You’re not qualified to speak on such a complex topic?
No one will listen to you or buy your little ebook! You don’t have authority or credentials.
Do you honestly believe that people will read what you wrote?
You should’ve shelved the ebook and the journal companion. GOOD Christians don’t deal with anxiety.
(This one really got me) You’re an embarrassment! Why would you go live on Instagram like that and tell all your business? People are laughing and judging you and you don’t even know it.
I knew where the voice came from and who said them. I’ll be honest. For a moment, I started to believe him. It was Satan and his lies telling me that me launching and speaking about my struggle with anxiety was a colossal mistake. Discouragement and anxiety started slowly to set in. I started thinking:
Maybe he’s right.
I’m not qualified for this.
I should delete my posts and not post at all.
Maybe others won’t care what I have to say. They probably won’t buy my ebook anyway. I could be wasting my time.
I should probably go on the blog and delete the product too and sell it low key.
But then I had a thought. It was more like a series of questions. I knew that I had to stop thinking like this before it consumed me, making me feel worse than what’s already been said.
Why would God go to great lengths for months and even years to get me to share my story?
Why would God put this ebook idea so deep in my spirit where it felt unshakable and send people that I know and don’t know to encourage me to finish?
Why would God call me to write this ebook but act in His “goodness” to see me fail?
God calling me to fail at something that He specifically told me to do is NOT “goodness.”
After these questions and thoughts, I started to pray. I told God that I believe that He had me write this ebook with on purpose for a purpose and that He would not let me fail. Loud and clear, the Holy Spirit reminds me of Romans 8:1.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1 NKJV
NOW, it started to make sense. Satan was trying to condemn and tear me down for walking in the Spirit and being obedient to God by sharing my story and writing the ebook. He was condemning me for not playing his stupid game and staying in bondage to the anxiety that he had me in all those years ago.
He wanted to use anxiety as a ploy to get me to shrink back and make me feel less than, unqualified to share what God had already given me, and to not trust God. He thought that me surrendering my weakness over to God would be an open invitation to use and abuse my weakness but didn’t realize that God gave me strength to obey and do what I’m called even when my weakness was visible to him.
My anxiety was lying to me and it can lie to us.
Following God can be risky. The questions and fear of the unknown can throw you into a state of anxiety where you write yourself off before you can even see the power of God work in and through you. Satan will have you thinking of worst case scenarios to keep you thinking that you don’t have what it takes, even though he’s subjected to The One who qualified you in the first place.
When you know without a shadow of a doubt that God has called you to something that your spirit can’t shake with constant confirmation, know that you’re qualified. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the money, resources, looks, talent, skills, whatever it is you think you’re lacking. It doesn’t even matter if people buy what you’re selling, like what you post, or listen to what you have to say. Satan’s job is to get you off track so you won’t fulfill the purpose God gave you. Yes, it may seem risky and scary but your anxiety is lying to you. You’re more qualified than you think because God approves of you.
What is God calling you to do that makes you feel anxious? What lies are you believing from the enemy about your anxiety? What’s scripture helps you combat your anxiety. Comment down below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
