It’s one thing to be fearful and another thing to be afraid. I think being fearful means that there is a certain uneasiness about a situation or thing. Not that you’re afraid of it, but that it isn’t ideal and might cause a level of discomfort.
To me, being afraid is allowing something to cause you to fear it to the point of not wanting to do it. You don’t just fear it and it’s outcome, but you fear the process and dread doing it, so you don’t do it.
So it is with our dreams. I think they we have some dreams that we’re fearful of and some that we’re simply afraid of. We’re a little fearful of the newness of the process, but excited about what is to come. Then there are those that we’re just afraid to try. We know they’ll bring change, we know they’ll bring more responsibility, and we know how different life will be and that scares us!
Lately, I’ve had to pray that God strengthen me for every goal and dream that is in accordance with His will. Ultimately, I’ve realized that I am fearful or afraid only when I see that I can’t accomplish things in my strength. Naturally (spiritually), that is true, because I can’t and I was never meant to.
My prayer is to be fearful but not afraid of my dreams. I want to be fearful of not being able to achieve my dreams in my own strength, but not afraid of them being done.