When You’re Second Guessing Yourself

For the writer, thinker, creative, or anyone simply trying to walk in obedience. How do you press forward and share your good work in the age of AI, opinions, and self-doubt?

The struggle to share what you’ve created

Last week, I struggled to publish what I had been working on, and because of that, I missed the target I gave myself: to release a newsletter every week.

So here I am, a week late.

The hardest part of being a writer or any kind of creative isn’t always in the beginning. Yes, it takes inspiration and/or discipline to get started because sometimes inspiration only flows after you’ve made the decision to begin. Then comes the need for knowledge, wisdom, and conviction to create with truth and authenticity.

But most recently for me, the struggle came at the end, when it came time to hit publish.

Why is that?

Why do we freeze, hesitate, or retreat when the finish line is right in front of us? Why is it so hard to share something we’ve poured ourselves into?

---

When feedback becomes a crutch

I looked back at the steps I took with my last draft, the one I didn’t publish. For some reason, this time, after finishing my draft, I submitted it to AI for a review. I told myself it was just out of curiosity, but if I’m being honest, I was second-guessing what I had put together (spoiler: AI always finds something to change). It suggested light edits to improve clarity and flow. Some were helpful, but others seemed to alter my voice… and more importantly, the influence of the Holy Spirit who had led me to write in that specific way in the first place.

Then I asked my husband to review my article. For the first time, he didn’t seem moved. Usually I notice his head nodding back and forth, followed by a big smile, which is my cue that I’ve written something insightful. This time, however, none of those delightful mannerisms appeared.

When I asked him what he thought, my husband said, “it was a good reminder.” He also suggested a tweak.

A good reminder? I thought. Okay, but not a significant message.

It’s not to say that everything we create must always reflect some grand revelation. There’s value in going back to the basics, to the fundamentals of life. For instance, surgeons can’t perform an elaborate procedure to save a life if they don’t first know how to throw a regular stitch. Still, it does sting when you feel like your work failed to make a significant impact this time around…especially when you aim to create something fresh. Something that people often tend to avoid or overlook.

And yet here I was, writing something that felt familiar. Creating something that had been seen before.

---

There is nothing new under the sun

I had been studying the book of Ecclesiastes and the following verse stood out to me:

“There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

That line gave me peace.

Maybe the point isn’t to create something the world has never seen, but to be faithful in sharing what God has given you in that moment, even if it’s been said or done a thousand times before. Someone might need to hear it for the thousand-and-first time.

Even more, the specific people in your life may have never heard it before. Each of us has different circles, different communities, different kinds of people surrounding us, which makes our reach unique in itself.

Take the gospel for instance…it’s been preached for thousands of years by countless people. It’s the same message, yet it needs to be shared again and again.

Still, instead of hitting publish, I decided to overthink the suggestions I received. You can see the pattern here. Self-doubt —> Seek feedback —> More self-doubt.

It’s not wrong to seek input. Scripture tells us:

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22)

But the problem wasn’t that I sought advice or used the tools at my disposal.

The problem was that I skipped the One whose counsel I needed most.

---

Divine counsel comes first

When I started this newsletter, I committed it into the Lord’s hands. I asked Him for ideas, for inspiration. I read His Word, prayed, waited, then I wrote and finally published. But somewhere in my last draft, I drifted away from my usual process. I started to rely more on what others thought, their affirmation, their “yes”, more than on the God who gave me the message to begin with.

And when they weren’t moved, I pulled back. I let their reaction be the final word.

How many projects have died like that?
How many God-given ideas have we buried, not because they weren’t good, but because someone didn’t validate them? (P.S. My husband is my biggest supporter but even he tells me that he’d much rather be a loyal subscriber than my editor…probably for this very reason).

God has been showing me that if I make Him the last stop in my process, if I hear from everyone else before Him, I risk building in vain.

It’s like writing a thesis and letting your classmates rewrite your arguments. Then, when you hand it over to your professor to read it, he’s disappointed…not because you didn’t try, but because you changed the very points he would have approved in the first place.

In this analogy, God is the professor, and we’ve let peer review come before divine review.

“The fear of man is a snare.” (Proverbs 29:25)
“Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.” (Psalm 146:3)

Fearing what others will think and trusting in their opinions too deeply becomes a threat to divine creativity.

To be clear, tools like AI and community feedback can be useful, but they’re meant to support, not replace your voice, and especially the voice of the Holy Spirit.

When we lean too heavily on them, they become a crutch. Crutches, when misused, don’t help us move…they keep us stuck.

---

A Prayer for the Creative

Holy Spirit, I come to You today, seeking Your presence, divine inspiration, divine ideas, and divine truth before I begin to create. Lead me by Your Spirit. Guide my thoughts, my words, and the message I’m meant to share.

Reveal to me what I ought to write. Grant me the grace to think clearly, to write cohesively, and to communicate in a way that brings light, hope, and truth to the reader.

Help me, Holy Spirit, to rely on You and You alone. May I not lean more on the counsel of others, than I do on You. Teach me to check with You first, to seek Your stamp of approval before turning anywhere else for guidance.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.