3 Reminders When Doubt Seeks to Steal Your Dreams

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Have you ever let doubt steal your dreams?

Uh-hmm…. I’m quietly raising my hand right now and slightly blushing.

Why the blushing? It happened just this week.

I’ve had some dreams in my heart for quite a while, but the timing hasn’t been right. Yet over the past few weeks, I’ve had several confirmations that the time has come to set goals and actions to these dreams.

The only problem was that I wasn’t quite sure how to accomplish them.

While I clearly knew my destination, I wasn’t sure how to get there.

That’s what a good coach is there for—to help you see the path from where you are to where you want to go.

Since I am blessed to have an Executive Business Coach for a husband, I squeezed myself into his tight schedule and set a strategic planning session.

We spent two hours processing through my goals and working out the details.

God ideas began to emerge and I had the foundation I was seeking.

He prayed for me, encouraged me and sent me off with definitive action items to work on.

I felt amazing!

Yet that excitement began to wain as I put those actions to work.

I began questioning everything I had arrived at only a few hours before.

What if I failed? What if I’m not equipped to do this? 

I started not only questioning my abilities but my character.

What kind of person gives up only hours after setting the plan?

Doubt began wiggling its way into my thoughts and feelings, leaving me unable to move forward.

Doubt is a cousin to fear.

It seeks to squash the passionate flame that God sets inside of us.

And it will succeed if we aren’t prepared to battle it.

3 Reminders When Doubt Seeks To Steal Your Dreams

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:5-6 NIV

Speak Truth to Doubt

The next morning I was still feeling insecure in my abilities and the goals I had set.  I opened my Bible hoping to find some encouragement for the unsettled feeling that lingered in my soul.

The moment my eyes landed on this word, I realized that doubt was the culprit for my distress. 

I had opened the door, inviting it in by meditating on the question: What if I fail?

Yet when I began reading the Word, it exposed lies and revealed truth that set me free. I was encouraged to believe and not doubt.

The truth is….

My husband and I had prayed before we began our session.

We sought God and His wisdom for this plan.

He showed up and gave us what we needed.

I had to speak truth to doubt and tell it what God’s Word says.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Ephesians 3:20 NKJV

Keep God in the Equation

When we focus on our own abilities, we can open the door for doubt to come in. Rather than looking at what God could do, I was fixated on what I could do.

I left God out of the equation. 

Focusing inward instead of upward, causes us to lose sight of God’s plan.

The enemy continually tries to convince us that we can’t do it, we aren’t good enough or strong enough, and that we will fail. And all of these things could be true, without God.

With God all things are possible. Where we are weak, He is strong. We are victorious in Him.

When the enemy uses doubt to try to squash our dreams, we can remind him who our God is.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

Let Go of Past Failures

Leaving the past behind is crucial to accomplishing our dreams and walking in our purpose.

When doubt crept in earlier this week, all kinds of “strongholds” from past experiences came rushing to the forefront of my mind.

Fear of failure.

Insecurity.

Worry.

All of these things are potential hindrances to me walking out my purpose.

My past doesn’t determine my future.

I can choose to let go of the things from my past and walk confidently in the future that God has for me.

If I fail? I get back up. 

The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. Proverbs 24:16 NLT

If I’m uncertain of what’s to come? He knows the end from the beginning.

Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. Isaiah 46:10 NLT

If I’m afraid? He is with me.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NIV

Sometimes we have to just let go of the past and trust in God. He is more than capable of fulfilling our dreams.

Is there something you need to let go of today? Are there lies that are holding you back from your moving toward your dreams? Be bold, friend. God is with you! Whatever He’s placed in your heart, He is faithful to fulfill if you let Him. Step out and follow His lead.

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