Uncommon Path Network

Dear Path Finder,

I pray you find your purposeful path, walk audaciously in it, and inspire others to find theirs too.

I write this not from a place of arrival, but from the middle, from a heart still learning, still surrendering, still choosing obedience one day at a time.

January has felt like an entire year compressed into a single month. I have walked through every season, not only climate seasons, but life seasons as well. There have been valleys and mountaintops, moments of clarity and long stretches of uncertainty. At times, it felt like I was standing in that quiet, heavy space between Christ’s crucifixion and His resurrection, where nothing seems to be happening, yet everything is being transformed beneath the surface. 

In that space, God began to show me something deeply personal – the greatest lesson was not how to go through it, but who I become when I go through it. My posture, my attitude, and my response when life feels unfair were all gently, but firmly, brought into the light.

The heart behind this article is not to provide polished answers. It is an invitation, to you and to me, to pause and honestly examine how we are showing up in our God-given assignment. I want us to sit with the uncomfortable questions, the ones we usually avoid, and allow God to lovingly search our hearts as we walk our purposeful paths.

Lately, I have been carrying what I can only describe as holy anger. I found myself wrestling with God, asking why fear has such a strong grip on us. Not the fear of failing, that one feels understandable, but the fear of being seen while pursuing our God-designed purpose. 

As I sat with this, I realised something that unsettled me – how confidently we live when we are misaligned, and how hesitant we become when we are walking in obedience. Deep in my spirit, I sensed this truth settling in, we should be more confident and courageous when we are aligned with our purpose, not less.

As I reflected, I began to notice a few common triggers that keep resurfacing. When I named them honestly, they felt smaller than the power we have given them, yet strong enough to delay obedience and keep us bound for years.

One of the strongest is the fear of what our close circle and community will say. If I am honest, this one hits close to home. It is rarely strangers we worry about, it is the people who know our stories, our false starts, our seasons of playing it safe. These are the ones who have watched us hesitate, change direction, and sometimes quit too soon. To step out now feels exposing, not because God is unclear, but because being seen trying again feels vulnerable.

Another fear I’ve had to confront is the fear of being seen pursuing my dreams. We do not hesitate to be seen looking good or sharing how difficult life has been. We post the pictures, tell the stories, and find language for our pain with ease. Yet when it comes to obeying God’s quiet whispers, the instructions that feel sacred, tender, and deeply personal, we suddenly want to hide. I’ve had to ask myself why I seem comfortable being seen in everything except the very purpose God placed me on this earth for.

Closely connected to this is the fear of not being received or supported. Validation can quietly take a seat it was never meant to occupy. We begin to measure meaning by applause and obedience by visible results. If no one affirms it, we wonder if it matters. If those closest to us are silent, we interpret that silence as God’s voice. If results take time, we assume we have missed Him. I say this gently, because I’ve lived it, but this mindset imprisons us and slowly trains us to trust people’s responses more than God’s instruction.

There is also the fear of being perceived as prideful or attention-seeking, and this one deserves tenderness. Motive matters deeply, and guarding our hearts is essential. There are moments when even our own hearts need realignment. Yet I have come to see another truth alongside this – there are those whose motives are pure, who would gladly choose obscurity if obedience allowed it. But because their obedience is meant to serve others, they surrender their preference for privacy and allow their lives to be seen, not to be exalted, but to point others toward Christ.

Lastly, there is the fear of not having the right words. I’ve whispered this one to God myself: What if I can’t explain it properly? What if I sound unsure? What if people don’t understand me? But God has been reminding me that He rarely reveals the full picture upfront. We discover the language as we walk. Clarity often comes through obedience, not before it. Even when our words feel clumsy, obedience still speaks with authority.

Path Finder, I ask this with love and urgency: when does it end? How many years will fear be allowed to negotiate our obedience? Will we wait until we are older, looking back with regret, wishing we had been bolder when God first called us?

Your purpose is not about self-fulfilment. It reaches far beyond you. Nations are waiting on your obedience. People you may never meet are praying prayers that your “yes” will answer. God, in His sovereignty, has chosen you as a vessel, not because you are perfect, but because you are willing.

When we confront and overcome the fear of being seen, we begin to show up fully, not loudly, not perfectly, but faithfully.

Above all else, remember this: your most important audience is Christ. Live for Him. Obey for Him. And let the deepest desire of your heart be to hear, at the end of it all, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

If fear has not yet challenged you, may this offering of my heart gently sit with you until it does. And when it does, may it be an urgent, loving invitation to live a purposeful life governed by obedience rather than fear.

Will you?

Shalom,
Oyena