To turn fear into opportunity, name the fear honestly, remind yourself how God has provided before, and then ask what practical step the fear is pointing to. A fear of not having enough food or money can become the push to grow a garden, learn to preserve, or stock a pantry. Fear makes a poor decision-maker, but it can point you to the next thing to build.
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What is a fear you carry deep inside?
One that not many people know about, but that touches a lot of your everyday decisions?
Here’s mine. That somehow there won’t be enough, and my family will be left short.
Short of food. Short of finances. Or simply short of time.
The Fear Under My Decisions
Why does this one get a say in so many of my choices?
Because the last thing I want is for my family to go without. So that fear sits under the grocery list, the budget, and the calendar. It has an opinion about all of it.
Left alone, it would run the whole place.
What I Do When the Fear Shows Up
I don’t pretend it isn’t there. Here’s what I do instead.
- I name it. I acknowledge the fear and try not to let it overtake me.
- I remember. I remind myself of all the ways God has provided for us in the past.
- I let my heart settle. Once it calms, I can think clearly about my next step.
- I thank Him. I thank God for His provision and ask Him to remind me again the next time the fear comes up.
Matthew 6:25-34 is where I go for this. Jesus tells us not to worry about what we will eat or what we will wear, because our Father already knows what we need.
The fear comes back. So I walk through this more than once.
How Fear Became a Garden
Here’s the part nobody talks about. That same fear has been one of my best motivators.
When I started staying home in 2019, our income was cut drastically. We were no longer paying for daycare or as much gas. But now we had to pay for our own insurance, and the grocery bill was only going up.
How were we going to offset the cost?
I looked around. We already lived on an acreage. I had gardened some in the past and was getting pretty good at it.
Why not take it to the next level and let the garden provide as much of our food as it could?
So it began in earnest.
- I planted more of what I knew we would eat and less of the extra stuff.
- I learned how to preserve our food for the winter.
- I learned to grow more of the vegetables my family liked, so we bought less at the store.
- I used the winters to study the next vegetable or fruit I wanted to grow.
- I took notes and adjusted the methods to fit our place.
- I tried double cropping and started a permaculture orchard.
What started as a fear of not being able to buy enough groceries turned into a huge garden and orchard, with the potential to meet about 80% of our family’s vegetable and fruit needs once it all matures.
All of that came from not giving in to the fear. I stepped back and looked for the opportunity inside it.
If you want the money side of that story, I told it in How to Feed Your Family on Half the Income.
How to Look for the Opportunity in Your Fear
Your fear may not be about groceries. The questions still work.
- What exactly am I afraid of? Say it plainly. “There won’t be enough” is easier to face than a vague knot in your stomach.
- How has God already provided? Write a few down. Your own history is hard to argue with.
- What do I already have? Build with what you’ve got. I had an acreage and some gardening experience. You have something too.
- What is one step I can take? One. I started by planting more of what we ate.
The garden doesn’t grow everything. For the pantry staples I can’t raise, I order in bulk through Azure Standard about four times a year. A full pantry answers a lot of “what if there isn’t enough.” Use code CassandraRow1 at checkout.
Fear Can Point, But It Doesn’t Get to Drive
I still carry this fear. I’ve stopped letting it make my decisions.
When it shows up, I name it, I remember what God has done, and I ask what it might be pointing me toward.
Don’t give in to the fear. Step back and look for the opportunity in it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I stop fear from making my decisions?
Name the fear out loud or on paper, then remind yourself of specific times God has provided for you. Wait until your heart settles before you decide anything. A calm mind picks a better next step than a frightened one.
What if my fear is about money or not having enough food?
Start with what you already have. Look at your space, your skills, and your budget, and pick one practical step. That could be a few garden beds, learning to preserve, or buying pantry staples in bulk. Small steps add up over several seasons.
Is it wrong to feel afraid if I trust God?
Fear shows up for everyone. The Bible is full of people who were afraid and brought it to God. What matters is what you do with it: bring it to Him, remember what He has done, and take the next step.
As I’ve grown as an entrepreneur, mom, gardener, and livestock owner, I struggled to find a planner that met my needs and kept me organized. So, I MADE MY OWN. You can look at it on the link below and buy it on Amazon.
Don’t want the whole calendar part? I got you! I pulled the gardening and animal care pages out and put them in a book all their own.