The Lord has been working in me for years now to prepare for this moment; in these past several years I have been collecting thoughts, ideas, and questions into a notebook. One day this collection will be converted into blogs, social media content, and more. I have many months’ worth of ideas in this notebook, and I thought for a long time about what topic I would dive deeper into for the creation of my first blog post. Yet here I sit, writing outside of my notebook collection for my first post. I needed to think deeply about how to encourage someone to step forward in faith and then take that advice myself. Hopefully this serves to inspire you, the reader, but also to inspire myself, because Lord knows I need it right now.

Don’t get me wrong, beginning this business is something that fills me with excitement, but it is a step toward uncertainty where there is certainly a human element of fear for me. The Lord is stretching me. He’s probably stretching you as well. How wonderful to have a God who knows how foolish we can be and yet has such beautiful and purposeful plans for our lives! What a reminder: God knows we will mess up but still entrusts us with precious gifts and opportunities anyways.

The fear of launching Love Encompassing stems from a focus on self rather than a focus on God. My reeling thoughts can be summarized into a few anxiety-ridden questions: Who am I to help people? What will people that knew me before this launch think of me now? Will I be able to sustain this schedule? Will this provide for my household financially? Am I “good” enough to share about Jesus on a larger scale? Every question is riddled with doubt and fear, which are not from God. They all revolve around me: my human feelings and my human concerns. And fair enough, I live as a human in a world that tends to dwell on similar questions to those listed above. But all I really need to know is that the Lord has brought me to this point, and thus He will lead me through it. It is time to get out of the flesh and into the Spirit.

Who am I to help people? I am simply a vessel for the true counselor to reach people. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul uses anatomy as an analogy to describe how our unique giftings collectively work together. He wrote about how there are many members of one body: hands, feet, eyes, etc., and each is important on its own but also as a whole. Being part of this mission is a blessing and a responsibility. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

What will people that knew me before this launch think of me now? I am on a journey of letting go of that care. I’m not trying to be obedient to them. They may judge me on this side of Heaven, but they aren’t the one letting me in. My identity is rooted in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Will I be able to sustain this schedule? The schedule is arbitrary and working is an honour. An ability to plan and organize is a gift the Lord has given me and with His guidance I can be a steward of this gift.  “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Will this provide for my household financially? Something could happen to prevent financial provision in any form of work. “Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.” 1 Chronicles 29:12 Jehovah Jireh (God the provider).

Am I “good” enough to share about Jesus on a larger scale? Having a relationship with Jesus covers me because on my own, I am not good enough. That is the heart of the Gospel. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8

If you are stuck in a rut of procrastination, self-doubt, questioning your purpose, perfectionism, or other difficult mindsets, ask yourself this: what is holding me back? The questions of doubt and fear I listed above were what I uncovered in this process. After you compile your list, ask God for the truth and spend time in scripture. It might be immediate affirmation or it might be a longer journey, but the truth will come.

All the scripture above brought a sense of peace to those questions, but I know I’ll have to revisit them continually for some time. It’s a process of letting go, learning, and walking with purpose. The most convicting scripture that spurred me to finally hit the post button was Ecclesiastes 11:4 “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” You may have seen it on the Love Encompassing Instagram. This watching and waiting is a combination of trying to find the perfect condition in the present whilst also anticipating what is to come. Although we can make calculated predictions, there is always an element of uncertainty because we don’t have the capacity to truly know what the future holds.

It’s time for me to launch with faith! What is the Lord telling you?