For or Against: Finding a Champion to Help You Navigate Life without Fear

Jerusha: Please join me in giving a big welcome back to Dena Netherton! Dena, a fellow romantic suspense author, has shared fear-fighting tips with us before and this time she’s offering a free print edition of her recent release, Haven’s Hope, to one of you who leaves a comment below. So don’t forget to join the conversation!

By Dena Netherton

Growing up, my own brand of fear went something like this: You’re going to mess up, and when you do, you will be a failure, and no one will ever forget it. Everyone says you’re smart and talented, but you’re not. You’re just a poser.

Consequently, my fear kept me from trying new things, especially things that might make me look foolish in front of others. Like public speaking.

In my twenties, however, God began to nudge me, and I tentatively dipped a toe into the strong and deep river of “risk,” fully expecting its current to overwhelm me and suck me under.

I taught music classes at a Community College. I spoke at churches. God was right there with me, strengthening me, counseling me, pouring into me His love for these students.

I discovered, much to my surprise, that almost everyone I spoke in front of expected me to do a good job, found me credible, and said “well done” afterward.

In my thirties, the next scary challenge I tackled was teaching and directing the Children’s Music Ministry at our church. Working with children? Gulp! Seventy elementary-aged kids with individual life energies each the size of an 18-wheeler. But God blessed that ministry, in spite of me. Imagine that!

In my forties, I went back to school, this time to get a degree in music education. Loved it. Twenty years out from my own college days, it was fun hanging out with this new batch of college-age twerps. They made me feel young again, and I, in return, showed them how to be disciplined, how to study, and how to take risks.

When my own children grew older, I found that concern for their safety, and for their spiritual and emotional health drove me to my knees. If I failed to entrust them to the Lord’s care every day, then worry for them would consume me.

Throughout the decades, I have found that worry and fear have followed me, always trying to drive a wedge between my heavenly Father and me.

I have learned to recognize that any downward spiral of my thoughts allows negative emotions to rise and surround me, like the thick Northwest fogs that sometimes envelop the hills and valleys of my pretty Pacific town.

What I’ve discovered is this: The Lord is for me, not against me. Just read Romans 8:31 if you doubt my words. He’s cheering for me every time I heed His call and step out to do something “risky.” My trust in Him pleasures Him and brings Him glory.

The enemy, by contrast, is not for me, even though he would like to make me think he’s just trying to spare me pain and fear and inconvenience. He would love to fill my head with doubt. He craves feeding my normal human predisposition to focus on the what-ifs. He will never encourage me.

So if you feel discouraged, if you are filled with worry, if you just know that you will fail, you are listening to the enemy. This is his M.O.

The Lord’s way of operating is to nudge you to do something for His glory, and He will empower you to do it. But, you need to walk by faith, not by sight. That’s the challenge. Will you do it?

He will take you farther and wider and higher and deeper than you could ever imagine if you will step out in faith, trusting in His wisdom, His goodness, and His provision.

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19

Are you afraid to take risks? Has faith in God as your champion helped you overcome fear? Please share!

Dena Netherton is a writer and musician. She grew up in the San Francisco bay area and attended Oberlin College, the University of Michigan and the University of Northern Colorado.

A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, she is a three-time semi-finalist in the Genesis Contest. She has been published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, Guideposts, Group Publishing and Baker Publishing.

Dena and her husband are active in their church in northwestern Washington.

Connect with Dena at her website and on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

A note from Dena for Fear Warriors about Haven’s Hope: Trusting and finding peace in the midst of trials does not come easily. When I wrote Haven’s Hope, my own hope was that each reader would see a little of themselves in Haven, the heroine, or in Petter, the wonderful doctor who loves her. They both struggle with their own kinds of fear.

Haven is a growing Christian, exercising her spiritual muscles while she continually prays for God’s protection from her stalker, Dade Colton. Petter, once a believer, has rejected God because his prayers went unanswered. As an emergency doctor, he has seen so much tragedy that he’s afraid to trust in a God who cannot be relied on.

Oh, how I grew to care for this young man, even as I wrote his—and Haven’s—story. I hope you enjoy reading Haven’s Hope.

Jerusha: Dena will give away one paperback copy of Haven’s Hope to a Fear Warrior Blog reader! To enter the drawing, simply leave a comment below! (Winner randomly selected April 16, 2018; winner must have continental U. S. mailing address.)

Haven’s Hope  (Book 2 of The Hunted Series)

Feel the fear … savor the romance

Beautiful Haven Ellingsen is about to discover that evil doesn’t take a holiday. She has escaped the man who relentlessly hunted her in the Cascade Mountains. But when an old friend from her dangerous past shows up unexpectedly to warn her that Dade Colton is determined to re-capture her, Haven makes the only safe decision: to go into hiding once more. If only she could tell someone about her tragic secret. But Dade’s threat to kill anyone who helps her would put that person’s life in jeopardy, too.

Dr. Petter Eriksen saves lives every day at Mercy Hospital Emergency Department. Driven by guilt after the accidental death of his little sister, he can’t believe in a good God. But when a beautiful and mysterious young woman moves into the the cabin on his uncle’s Christian Retreat, Petter wonders if her love and simple faith have the power to shatter the barrier he has erected around his heart. And can he save her from a madman?