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The Fear Of Man
Daniel Kelley
April 01, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Context
The fear of man can be defined as an excessive concern about what other people think of you. This can lead to people pleasing, insecurity, and a lack of boldness. Also, it can manifest as a deep desire for approval, fear of rejection, or avoidance of conflict, even at the cost of compromising personal values or God's calling. The fear of man and the fear of God are not able to coexist. Therefore, you either fear man or you fear God.
Fear of man can look like:
Hesitating to post content because you’re afraid of what people will say
Not starting a business or launching a product because of fear of failure
Avoiding hard conversations with employees, partners, or clients because you don’t want to be disliked.
Watering down biblical truth in conversations to fit in.
Undervaluing your work and undercharging for services to avoid people thinking you're greedy.
In my life there has been countless times where I’ve fallen victim to the fear of man but as my relationship with the Lord has grown deeper I’ve become more aware of when that is. Recently, I was at the gym and I saw a former NFL football player that I wanted to ask to come on the podcast and for a moment in time I got nervous and I was thinking to myself “Why would a guy like that want to come on my podcast?”. After having this thought I quickly realized that my insecurities were starting to creep through, I had forgotten my identity, and I also put that man on a pedestal that should only belong to God! Luckily I noticed this and I was able to remind myself that on the other side of rejection is opportunity so I put a stop to my fear of rejection and took my shot. Long story short he wasn’t too interested lol but that’s okay because I conquered that insecurity and I built some good confidence from it!
Here’s 5 steps to breaking free from the fear of man:
Anchor Your Identity In God
God’s love is unconditional. Placing your identity in anything other than Him will always leave you feeling empty. Shift your focus and remind yourself:
I am loved with an everlasting love
I am God’s masterpiece created to do good works
I am confident God has good plans for me
When you know who you are in Christ peoples opinions lose power over you.
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Expose The Fear
Identify the fear and bring it to light. Acknowledge what you’re actually afraid of and don’t beat around the bush. Ask yourself:
What is it that I’m afraid of?
Why am I afraid of ___ ?
What’s the worst that could happen if ____ occurs?
You can’t conquer what you refuse to face.
Pray For Courage
Ask God to strengthen you and give you the boldness to walk in confidence. Whether it’s starting a business, asking for a promotion, or asking someone out on a date. God wants to partner with you in everything you do. Pray this:
“God I need you. From you I draw my strength and confidence, you are my source. Remind me of my power and authority”
Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the strength to move forward despite it.
Surround Yourself With Bold People
Your environment shapes you; be around those who live fearlessly for their calling. Surrounding yourself with people who take fear by the horns will empower you to do the same.
If you want to become a killer, you have to surround yourself with killers. There is no way around it.
Embrace Rejection
If Jesus got rejected, what makes you think you won’t? Rejection and failure is apart of the process. And the beautiful thing about rejection is that you’re just that much closer to a yes.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default.”
Let rejection become a refining fire.
Join The Facebook Group
As of two weeks ago I opened the Divine Potential facebook community (it’s completely free) and I want you to join! If you’re a faith driven entrepreneur or just someone who wants to maximize every area of life you will not want to miss this opportunity.
What You’ll Find:
🔥 Encouragement
📈 Entrepreneurial insights
💪 Personal development strategies
🤝 A supportive network of like-minded individuals
Talk soon,
Daniel Kelley
P.S - Divine potential just crossed over 300 subscribers 🙌. Thank you to everyone who continues to show love and support, it never goes unnoticed.