| When Christian women think about what’s scary, it’s often not the obvious fears—it’s the quiet, deeper fears like disappointing others, breaking out of expectations, or stepping fully into the life God created you for. What these have in common are our ability to say what’s scary when we’re most afraid. I couldn’t sleep last night after I attended two consecutive meetings in our community. Youth and parents of the thriving youth group in our community were invited to attend after word got around about area churches making it difficult for the program to continue. About 60 adults and youth sat in a tight circle of chairs. Scanning the room to get a feel for how the meeting would go, people began sharing story after story of transformation of the youth. People kept waiting for the next person to address the elephant in the room. Why are there so many parameters making this booming program now rigid and stale? Why are people and local church bodies getting in the way of what the Lord is doing? Why aren’t the area churches doing everything in their power to help sustain this program? Instead, silence. There’s a subtle but very real pressure that shows up when you’re tempted to soften what you say. Maybe I’m the only one feeling this.Perhaps someone else would be better to speak into this. Maybe I have this wrong. And then you think through whether you should explain it more, walk it back just a little, or reshape it so it lands better for them. As my turn was approaching, I then began questioning why we were not being more bold about the good news that must continue to spread in our community. So sitting quietly waiting, I had to preach to myself—because I was fighting the urge to shrink back, too. Reading Acts of the Apostles, what we actually see is that the gospel has never been received without resistance. Followers of Jesus weren’t simply misunderstood or overlooked—they were directly told to stop speaking about Jesus, warned by authority, threatened, arrested, and pressured to stay quiet. Their response? They didn’t become more palatable or easier to accept. They stayed anchored in what they knew to be true and continued speaking anyway. I wonder whether you have been taught—explicitly or indirectly—that part of being “good Christian woman” means managing other people’s reactions, minimizing discomfort, and doing whatever it takes to keep the peace, even if that peace comes at the cost of your own clarity, voice, and self-respect. But this isn’t the story we see in Scripture. What you do see is truth being spoken with conviction. Even when it creates tension, even when it challenges people, and even when it isn’t received well. It doesn’t mean we should be harsh or careless, but it also doesn’t mean shrinking yourself so that what you’re carrying feels easier for someone else to hold. So if you’ve been feeling hesitant or confused about what’s going on around you—whether it’s coming from other people or rising up internally as doubt, second-guessing, or the urge to go back to editing yourself, I want you to consider the possibility that what you’re experiencing isn’t a sign to retreat, but an invitation to stay rooted and keep going. Obedience to God has always confronted things that people would rather leave unexamined. It has always asked something deeper of us than surface-level comfort, which means there will be moments where the hard truth creates friction. You are allowed to speak clearly without over-explaining yourself into exhaustion. You are allowed to hold your ground without carrying the weight of everyone else’s response, and you are allowed to trust that obedience doesn’t always look like being well-received. The same God who gave you your voice isn’t asking you to bury it just because it makes someone else uncomfortable. So if you’ve been feeling the pressure to quiet down, smooth things over, or make your truth more acceptable, I hope this reminds you that you’re not alone in that experience. You’re not off track, and you don’t have to go back to shrinking just to keep things easy.So I spoke what everyone was too afraid to say. I reminded us that NOTHING should hinder the gospel and the work that the Lord is wanting to do. I shared that I was sad to see that agendas, protection of people, individual church bodies, and finances, had gotten in the way of the youths best interest, which should never be. And I called the church higher, asking that we now respond with full support of the youth through this program. It doesn’t have to be a ‘big’ situation like this or even church related. Maybe you’re facing in-laws, your husband, a friend, or colleague. But keep going. Lean in when your heart starts racing and your mind tells you to keep quiet. Preach to yourself and keep telling the truth the way it was meant to be told. Then, release the rest. Where have you been feeling the pull to stay quiet when you know you were meant to speak? |
Saying What’s Scary
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