Unlike children, I ponder why adults have a hard time believing in themselves. Add the weight of being a woman in misogynistic environments and it’s a miracle we get any recognition at all. As women entrepreneurs, we’ve all heard those whispers of self-doubt trickling in, saying things like, “You’re not qualified for this,” or “You don’t really know what you’re doing,” or the most popular one, “You’re going to fail.”
What I’ve learned from my entrepreneurship journey and my walk with God is that qualification and failure have no merit in your divine destiny. You may not be qualified, but God is. You may fail but God has the final victory and it includes you.
What did you do with the last brilliant idea that randomly popped into your head? Did you cultivate it or toss it aside? The brain is extremely valuable and when it’s operating at full efficiency, it becomes a portal for God to instill His magnificent strategies. The caveat to this is that God will only give us the small amounts we can handle to keep going (1 Corinthians 10:13). We all have a fleshly desire to know and control everything but God knows we could never handle this information; we would become fearful of all the inevitable life events, good and bad, and stop completely. Self-doubt is a mind trick from the enemy so when you are dealing with it, understand it’s because you don’t have all the information of God’s plan.
When God gave me the idea to make hair pins, I had no clue it would evolve into a jewelry company that impacts women and girls to believe in their self-worth. I am innately an introvert but I’ve had opportunities to speak in front of people about my business and my story. I’ve only been operating as Perennial Peaces for two years and there’s more ahead of me than behind me. I wouldn’t have started if I knew I would have to be this uncomfortable. But when we’re walking with God, He knows how to get us far enough where turning back is no longer an option, which is a major blessing in disguise.
Marinate on the fact God doesn’t give us unfinished plans (Jeremiah 29:11). Psalm 33:11 says, “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.”
That means the plan is finished from the beginning! Before you were born, you were carefully crafted to fulfill this part of God’s magnificent plan. All you have to do is show up!
But it’s hard to show up sometimes, I know. This is why God created us to yearn for connections with other people. It’s vital to have a circle of friends or family that support your endeavors and give you encouragement. If you haven’t read the story of Zerubbabel, take some time to learn from this character in the Bible. He led the first and largest group back to The Promised Land after they were exiled for 70 years. Before establishing governance, the people were led to rebuild God’s temple. Like all God-led missions, this was met with resistance and the rebuilding came to a halt for 16 years. Zerubbabel was undoubtedly very discouraged by this, but God sent Haggai and Zechariah to encourage this leader and the people to resume work — it was finally completed four years later. This is a small example of how others in your life can push you forward and how you should also be that encouragement for those who battle with discouragement and self-doubt (Proverbs 15:22). Create accountability groups and make sure you’re checking in because these people will nourish your spirit when you can’t do it for yourself. We are complex individuals who will never have the meaning of “Life” fully mastered, but that’s okay because we get to surrender our lives to God (Proverbs 3:6) who has already conquered this world. I’ll be praying that you allow God to help you ditch the doubts for good. I have faith in you.
Sheridan C. Watkins is a journalist and the owner of Perennial Peaces, a jewelry and gifts brand focused on transcending self-worth to all women. Her true work began after climbing out of a dark place with the help of God and therapy and her life mission is to provide tangible peace through her Divine gifts to help women heal and transform their life. Follow the mission on Instagram and Facebook: @perennialpeaces
