Episode 14: Why Live Fearless?

Is it even possible to live a fearless life?

Hello, Fearless One.

It’s Nerissa here, and I can’t believe we are at Episode 14. I want to thank God for giving me the strength and courage to keep going. I also want to thank you, whether you have been listening since Episode One or you are just joining us. It means so much that you are here.

Today, I want to unpack why I started this podcast and the central message behind it, so you understand where we are and where I believe God is taking us. Of course, God can switch things up, as He often does. Some of these episodes were not on my original schedule, but I want the Holy Spirit to be the producer of this podcast. I am happy to follow His leading.

Fearless One with Nerissa Golden is based on my book, Live Fearless: A Christian Entrepreneur’s Guide to Life and Business, which was released in September 2025.

I struggled with the subtitle for a while because I do not usually want my business books to be so niche that someone outside the faith feels unable to read them. But I felt led to be clear about who this book was for and what it was built upon. Its principles are biblical. My hope is that Christian believers will begin to recognise the ways fear has been controlling their lives and businesses, and step into a fresh revelation of who they are as children of God.

The journey towards understanding how to live fearlessly has been a lifelong one for me. Like the Apostle Paul, I have not arrived. I am still pressing towards the mark. Philippians 3:13–14 says, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark.”

What God has allowed me to do is recognise the many ways fear shows up in my life.

It is not always paralysing terror. Fear can look like constant activity that keeps you from the one thing you are meant to do. It can look like procrastination, overeating, overanalysing, playing small or making choices based on your need for love and approval.

When you understand how fear manifests in your life, you can pause and ask: What is beneath this response? What is this fear trying to protect? And what does God’s Word say about it?

Now, you may be thinking, “Nerissa, I don’t believe it is possible to live without ever feeling fear.”

I agree. Living fearless does not mean you will never experience the emotion of fear. It means fear no longer gets to govern you.

Fear can alert us to genuine danger. But it can also make us avoid what God is asking us to face. The question is not simply, “Do I feel afraid?” The better question is, “Who is leading me right now, fear or the Spirit of God?”

First John 4:18 tells us, “Perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.” In its immediate context, John is speaking about being secure in God’s love and no longer fearing judgement. But the principle reaches into the rest of our lives. The more deeply we know the love of God, the less power tormenting fear has over us.

Second Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

That power, love and sound mind give us another way to respond.

The goal of the Fearless One podcast is not merely to tell you, “Do not be afraid.” It is to help you recognise fear, understand what it is revealing and respond from your identity in God, so you can move forward in what you have been called to do.

In Live Fearless, I talk about using fear as fuel. I share how fear was often the driving force behind many of the things I accomplished when I was younger. But this was not peaceful motivation. It was stomach-churning, sweat-inducing, appetite-stealing fear.

Our nervous systems are designed to respond to danger through fight, flight, freeze and sometimes fawn. Those responses can protect us in a crisis, but living in a prolonged state of stress can take a toll on both the body and the mind.

I used to say, “Do it afraid,” or, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” Sometimes that is a necessary first step. Courage can mean obeying while your emotions are still catching up. But I now believe God wants to bring us beyond being continually driven by fear. He wants us to become so rooted in our identity, His love and our assignment that fear loses its authority over our decisions.

Living in a constant state of high stress can make your body behave as though danger is always close. That is the reality of people living in conflict zones. It is also the reality of adults and children living with abusive partners or parents. They are constantly on edge, waiting for the next outburst of physical, verbal or emotional harm.

If that is your reality, I pray that God will give you peace, protection, trustworthy support and a safe way out. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.” Please do not interpret faith as a requirement to remain in danger.

We can also live with a constant sense of threat without being in a war zone or an abusive household. We can see the whole world through the lens of scarcity: It is me or them. If they have it, there will not be enough for me. If I slow down, everything will fall apart.

That is a life governed by fear.

So, what do we do with fear?

We become curious about what it is revealing. Some fears are instinctive responses to danger, while many others are shaped by experience, environment, trauma, teaching and imagination. Rather than dismissing every fear, we can examine it. Is this a warning I need to heed? Is it an old wound speaking? Is it a belief I learned from someone else? Or is it resistance to the growth God is asking of me?

I appreciate that we now understand much more about how stress, safety and the nervous system affect our behaviour. When our bodies perceive danger, self-preservation can take priority over growth, creativity and connection.

This year, I began looking more seriously at my health. I had been trying for a few years, but I recognised that I needed to invest in support because I was not making enough progress on my own. It was surprising to learn that the first instruction was not to eat less, but to eat more consistently and more nutritiously.

I had been under-fuelling my body for decades. Food was one of the things I felt I could control. At times, it was easy to overeat. At other times, when I was worried, I would not eat. I could comfort myself with food, but I could also deny myself the food that would nourish me.

When other parts of life felt uncertain, food became one place where I could exercise control.

Some of this was connected to not having enough in my early years. But food was also one of the ways I channelled fear. I could always justify the packet of biscuits or the fries. I had worked hard. I had achieved something. I deserved a treat.

Food is often part of how we celebrate. But it can also become a substitute for dealing with what hurts. Used that way, it may make it harder to care for our bodies and live with the strength and energy our purpose requires.

The answer for me was not more junk food. It was more protein, healthier carbohydrates and fats, and more consistency. I learned that balance served me better than swinging between restriction and overindulgence.

The toughest part was not only choosing the right foods. It was eating on time. I frequently did not feel hungry, or I was working on something and did not want to stop. Those patterns disrupted my ability to recognise and respond to what my body needed.

The deeper work was recognising the triggers that made me turn to food for comfort, or withhold it as though I were punishing myself for not doing enough or not being deserving enough.

When we feel unsafe or overwhelmed by finances, relationships or difficult decisions, we may turn to food, drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, gambling, conflict or blame. The behaviour may offer momentary relief while leaving the root issue untouched.

God does not want any substance, person or habit to become the source we run to instead of Him. Psalm 56:3 says, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Notice that David did not pretend he never felt fear. He made a decision about where to turn when fear appeared.

And this brings me to the core of the Fearless message.

You are blessed.

Genesis 1:27–28 says that God created humanity, male and female, in His image. Then “God blessed them,” and told them to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it and have dominion.

That “them” is important. The blessing was spoken over both the man and the woman. Eve had not given birth. Neither of them had built, produced or achieved anything. God blessed them before they performed.

Blessed first.

This is identity. Before the assignment, there was the blessing. Before the work, there was God’s declaration over who they were and what they carried.

Sin fractured humanity’s relationship with God and distorted that identity. Through Christ, we are reconciled to God and restored to relationship with Him. Ephesians 1:3 says that God “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

You do not work to earn an identity from God. You work from the identity and grace you have received in Christ.

Then God said, “Be fruitful.” Fruitfulness is development. It is taking the seed, gift, idea or capacity God placed within you and cultivating it until it produces something useful.

Then comes multiplication. Multiplication is impact. It is allowing what you have cultivated to create value for more than yourself.

Then comes dominion. Dominion is not domination of people. It is stewardship. It is the responsible management of what God has entrusted to you. It is leading, building, governing and caring for His creation under His authority.

Blessed. Fruitful. Multiply. Dominion.

Identity. Development. Impact. Stewardship.

That is the framework behind this podcast.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

I do not see seeking God’s Kingdom and doing fruitful work as two separate lives. When our work is submitted to God, developing what He placed within us can become part of seeking His Kingdom. But productivity itself is not proof of obedience. We must still ask whether what we are building reflects His character, priorities and instruction.

If I plant a seed today, I cannot demand fruit tomorrow. Different plants mature at different rates. A mango tree takes time to become established and bear fruit. During that time, it must be watered, fed, protected and pruned.

Your gift is much the same. You may want to become a singer or an author. You may have the beginnings of the required skill, but you still need time, practice, discipline and instruction to become excellent.

The practical question is: How do you eat and live while the tree is still growing? How do you support yourself while your skill develops or your book is being written?

This is where trust and wise stewardship meet. God’s provision will not look the same for everyone. One author may receive a publishing advance that covers a year of expenses. Another may write while holding down a full-time job. One form of provision is not more spiritual than the other.

Speaking as a creative, fear often comes in the in-between moments. You know you are called to write, and you need time to write, but you are also wondering where the provision will come from.

Elijah experienced an unusual form of provision in 1 Kings 17:2–6. God told him to go to the brook Cherith and said that ravens would feed him there. Elijah had a word from God, but he still had to go to the place God named and trust that provision would meet him there.

Later, when the brook dried up, God gave him a new instruction and used a widow to sustain him. In another season, when Elijah was exhausted and afraid, an angel brought him food and told him to eat because the journey was too great for him. You can read that in 1 Kings 19:4–8.

The source and method changed, but God remained faithful.

In the meantime, we must trust. Just as the seed is doing what it was created to do beneath the soil, God may be working in ways we cannot yet see.

Is it easy? No.

Your work is to remain in faith, stay close enough to hear God’s next instruction and keep doing today’s act of obedience. Keep writing. Keep drawing. Keep singing. Keep building. Keep being the parent, leader or creator God has called you to be.

Habakkuk 2:4 says, “The just shall live by his faith.” Second Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

I believe God is calling more of His children to live this way. There may be seasons when He asks you to sit by the brook. You may look around and wonder how you will eat or where you will sleep. But faith is not pretending you have no practical needs. Faith is trusting God enough to obey while remaining attentive to the form His provision takes.

We must not allow fear about our security and provision to blind or paralyse us to the work God is doing. That does not mean abandoning wisdom, refusing help or ignoring responsibilities. It means we do not allow fear to become our master.

As we continue with the Fearless One podcast, we are going to talk more about the ways fear shows up in life and business, what it may be signalling and how to respond through the Word of God, the wisdom of God and a personal word from God.

Genesis 1:28 gives us the framework for building a life and business from identity rather than fear.

Blessed. Know who God created you to be.

Fruitful. Develop what He placed within you.

Multiply. Use it to create value and impact beyond yourself.

Dominion. Steward it responsibly under God.

So, here are three questions to sit with this week:

Where is fear currently making decisions for me?

What would change if I began from the truth that I am already loved and blessed in Christ?

What is one act of faithful stewardship God is asking of me today?

You are blessed. You are His favourite, next to me, of course.

Thank you for joining me today. Until next time, live fearless.