What If You Succeed?

We spend a lot of time talking about the fear of failure.

We're told to embrace failure because it teaches us something. We hear stories of entrepreneurs who failed before building successful companies, athletes who lost countless games before becoming champions, and authors whose manuscripts were rejected over and over before finally finding a publisher. Failure has become something we almost admire because we know it often precedes growth.

But what if failure isn't actually what scares us most?

What if we're afraid of succeeding?

At first, that sounds ridiculous! Success is what we're pursuing, isn't it? It's why we dream about starting the business, writing the book, moving across the country—or across the world—changing careers, asking someone out, planting a church, or finally stepping into the calling that has been quietly tugging at our hearts for years.

Yet countless people spend their lives standing at the edge of those dreams.

Not because they're lazy.

Not because they're incapable.

But because success changes everything.

Success Requires a New Identity

Failure allows us to remain who we've always been.

Success doesn't.

Real success demands that we become someone new.

The person who starts the business cannot continue thinking like someone waiting for permission.

The person who steps into leadership cannot continue living only for comfort.

The person who answers God's call cannot remain anchored to familiarity.

Every meaningful step forward requires leaving an old version of yourself behind.

That is far more intimidating than most people realize.

Many of us become comfortable with our current identity—even if we secretly wish it were different.

We've become "the one with potential."

"The creative one."

"The dependable one."

"The dreamer."

"The one who always talks about doing something someday."

"The supporting cast."

"The sidekick."

"The comic relief."

Those identities become familiar. We know how to wear them, and the people around us know what to expect from us.

But what happens if you actually write the book?

What happens if the business succeeds?

What happens if God answers the prayer you've been praying for years?

You don't just receive a new opportunity.

You become a different person.

Deep down, I think many of us know that.

That's why we hesitate.

The Hidden Cost of Staying Comfortable

We usually tell ourselves we're waiting.

Waiting until life settles down.

Waiting until we save more money.

Waiting until the kids get older.

Waiting until we feel confident.

Sometimes those reasons are legitimate.

But sometimes "waiting" is simply fear wearing respectable clothes.

Because staying where you are comes with one tremendous advantage.

It's familiar.

You know the routines.

You know the expectations.

You know who you are.

You know what tomorrow looks like.

Comfort isn't attractive because it's exciting.

Comfort is attractive because it's predictable.

And familiarity has an incredible ability to convince us that staying still is safer than moving forward.

It isn't.

Success Changes Relationships

One of the greatest fears surrounding success is rarely discussed.

What happens if the people around me don't come with me?

What if I get to the mountain top, and I have nobody up there to celebrate with?

Growth changes relationships.

Friends who celebrated your dreams may become uncomfortable when those dreams begin to happen.

Family members may not understand why you've changed your priorities.

People who have always known one version of you may struggle to accept the person you're becoming.

Not because they're bad people.

But because your growth quietly confronts the places where they've chosen not to grow.

Sometimes it's easier to remain small than to risk becoming misunderstood.

Sometimes we settle because we don't want anyone else to feel uncomfortable.

But living your life to preserve everyone else's expectations is one of the quickest ways to lose the life God intended for you.

Our Family Stood at the Same Crossroads

A couple of years ago, my wife and I found ourselves standing at one of those crossroads.

We had friends.

We had family nearby.

We knew our routines.

We had our favorite spots.

Life made sense.

Then God opened a door that eventually led our family to move to Padova, Italy, to help serve a church and develop a student center.

People have asked us whether we were scared.

Absolutely.

We weren't simply afraid of moving overseas.

We were afraid of everything that came after saying yes.

Would we be able to raise enough financial support?

Would our boys thrive so far from family and familiarity?

Would we make lifelong friends only to leave them behind one day?

Were we making the biggest mistake of our lives?

Those questions stayed with us for months.

Looking back now, I realize there was another fear hiding beneath all the others.

What if it actually worked?

What if this became the life God had been preparing us for?

Because if that happened, there would be no going back to the people we used to be.

Our boys would not be the same.

The departures board at Venice Airport was still glowing behind us as we pushed two luggage carts toward the exit. Our boys were exhausted after the long journey. We had no house to walk into that felt like home—it wouldn't be ready for another two weeks. We had no idea whether the student center we'd come to build would actually help anyone.

Looking back, I realize I wasn't just afraid of moving across the world or of the uncertainty I was leading my family into. I was afraid of who I'd become if saying yes to God changed everything—and it did.

Comfort Is Not Safety

The hardest part about moving wasn't buying plane tickets, fundraising, or handling rejection.

It was leaving familiarity.

There's something strangely comforting about knowing what tomorrow looks like, even if tomorrow isn't everything you've hoped for. Knowing the food you normally buy, the places you go on the weekends, or the sports teams that our boys would play on. The comfort and earned expectations of everyday life were comforting.

The Israelites understood this.

After God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, they repeatedly wanted to go back.

Not because slavery was good.

Because it was familiar.

Freedom required trust.

The Promised Land required battles.

The wilderness required dependence on God.

We make the same mistake today.

We confuse familiarity with safety.

But throughout Scripture, God continually calls ordinary people to leave familiar places.

Abraham left home.

Moses left Egypt.

Esther approached the king.

Peter stepped out of the boat.

Paul walked away from status and security to carry the gospel across the Roman Empire.

None of them knew exactly what was waiting.

But all of them knew Who was leading them.

Start Asking a Better Question

Most of us spend our lives asking one question.

What if I fail?

It's the wrong question.

A better question is this:

What if I succeed?

What if the business becomes everything God intends it to become?

What if people read your book and find hope?

What if your ministry reaches people you never imagined?

What if your difficult conversation heals a relationship?

What if that new job in a different state or country creates better opportunities for your family.

What if your decision to obey God changes your children's future?

What if your willingness to take one faithful step becomes the beginning of a story you'll spend the rest of your life thanking God for?

We spend so much time imagining worst-case scenarios that we rarely imagine what God can accomplish through someone who simply says yes.

Padova, Italy (November 2024)

We Found Something Waiting on the Other Side

When our family first chose to move back to Italy, we couldn't see what the other side would look like.

We didn't know all of the amazing people we would meet while driving around the southern United States to fundraise.

We didn't know how amazingly flexible and resilient our boys would be.

We didn't know how many incredibly generous Christians were waiting for an opportunity to give to a worthwhile cause.

We didn't know the students and families in Padova whose names now fill our contact list.

We didn't know the Bible studies that would begin around coffee tables.

We didn't know the conversations that would stretch late into the evening.

We didn't know the people who would become like family.

We didn't know how much our own family's faith would grow.

Those things were already waiting for us, because God was already working long before we ever agreed.

Our obedience didn't create His work.

It simply allowed us to become part of it.

That realization has changed the way I think about success.

Success isn't merely accomplishing a goal.

It's discovering what God had prepared on the other side of your obedience.

Your Success Was Never Meant to End With You

One of the most beautiful themes throughout Scripture is that God's blessings always overflow.

When God blessed Abraham, He didn't stop with Abraham.

He said, "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

The blessing had a destination beyond the person receiving it.

The same pattern appears throughout the Bible.

God comforts us so we can comfort others.

He forgives us so we can forgive others.

He teaches us so we can teach others.

He provides for us so we can become generous.

His work in us has always been intended to become His work through us.

Your dream should be viewed the same way.

The business isn't only about your income.

The book isn't only about your accomplishment.

The ministry isn't only about your fulfillment.

The adventure isn't only about your experience.

God loves to use ordinary acts of obedience to accomplish extraordinary things in the lives of other people.

Someone needs the business you haven't started.

Someone needs the book you haven't written.

Someone needs the ministry you've been postponing.

Someone needs the encouragement you'll one day be able to offer because you had the courage to walk through the very season you're trying to avoid.

Your success has never been only about you.

The Life God Has for You Requires You to Leave the Life You're Comfortable Living

The greatest risk isn't failure.

The greatest risk is arriving at the end of your life having never discovered what God could have done through your willingness to obey.

No one is promised wealth, influence, or an easy life. Success in God's Kingdom has never been measured by followers, income, or applause. It has always been measured by faithfulness.

But faithful people move.

They build.

They create.

They serve.

They trust God before they know the outcome.

Looking back, moving to Italy was never really about Italy.

It wasn't the beautiful cities. It wasn't the incredible food. It wasn't learning another culture. It was watching God do exactly what He has always done.

He takes ordinary people who are willing to trust Him and places them exactly where He intends to use them. Italy simply became the place where obedience unfolded.

That's true for our family.

It's true for yours.

Your "Italy" may not be another country.

It may be a business you've been afraid to start.

A book you've been afraid to write.

A ministry you've been postponing.

A difficult conversation you've been avoiding.

A career change you've been praying about.

Or a step of obedience you've delayed because the future feels uncertain.

Whatever it is, don't let fear convince you that staying where you are is safer than following where God is leading.

We spent months asking ourselves, "What if this doesn't work?"

Looking back, I wish we had asked a different question.

What if it does?

Because it did.

Not perfectly. Not without sacrifice. Not without homesickness, uncertainty, or difficult days. But God has been faithful in ways we never could have imagined. The people we've met, the friendships we've built, the lives we've watched Him touch—including our own—were all waiting on the other side of a decision that fear almost talked us out of making.

The other side of your obedience isn't empty.

God is already there.

So to close, my advice to you is this: do the next right thing. Take the next step.

One day you'll look back and realize that the life you were afraid to pursue became the very life God used to shape you, strengthen you, and bless countless others through you.