Are You Led By Fear?

What’s Really Driving Your Decisions?

For much of my life, fear drove more of my choices than I’d like to admit. I was afraid to ask a girl out, afraid to leave a job I had outgrown, afraid to invest in myself or take bold steps in my career. Even in sports, I played small at times—not because I lacked ability, but because I was scared of failure.

But the deepest fear I wrestled with was trusting God’s promises—especially when it came to sin. Sin offers short-term pleasure, a quick dopamine hit. It feels good now. But choosing to follow God requires us to delay that gratification. It means living with a low time preference, storing up eternal treasure instead of chasing earthly gain.

It wasn’t until I began to ask, “What’s really driving me?” that I saw how often fear had been at the wheel.

What Scripture Says About Fear vs. Faith

Fear isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it dresses itself up as being cautious or practical. But the Bible makes it clear: fear often stands in opposition to faith.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us." — 1 John 4:18-19

When we’re led by fear, we forget who God is and what He’s promised. We tighten our grip on control instead of walking in trust. But when we know we’re loved by the Creator of the universe, we can move forward even when things are uncertain.

Think about Peter in Acts 10. When God told him to eat what was previously considered unclean, Peter pushed back out of fear of breaking the law (Acts 10:14-16). Later, in Acts 11:3, the Jewish believers questioned him for associating with Gentiles. But after Peter explained what God had revealed, they said:

“When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, ‘So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.’” — Acts 11:18

Fear said, “This breaks tradition.” Faith said, “God is doing something new.”

Running With Endurance, Not Panic

The Christian life is not a sprint—it’s a marathon. And it’s not meant to be run with anxiety, but with endurance.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." — Hebrews 12:1-2

Throwing off sin means choosing the long road. It means rejecting short-term satisfaction in favor of eternal joy. That’s what God calls us to do. And He doesn’t ask us to do it alone.

In Genesis 1:31, God looked at His creation and said it was very good. That includes you. God didn’t design you to live in fear, but to walk in freedom, guided by His truth.

What Are You Letting Lead You?

Fear is a terrible leader. It exaggerates threats, downplays your value, and makes God’s promises feel optional. But faith—rooted in love—leads to life.

Ask yourself today: Am I being led by fear? Or by the promises of God?

Choosing to follow Jesus, to turn away from sin, and to trust His plan isn’t always the easy route—but it is the better one. And it’s the only one that leads to eternal life.

Let’s fix our eyes on Him, throw off what entangles, and run the race marked out for us.