"I don't want to discourage you, but we won't sell that many books."

"Why did you decide to do that?

"You are making a mistake. That won't work. That's not how things are done."

These are the kind of things I've been hearing lately as I write a new book. And these are not ill-founded concerns. I have a satire book coming out in about month. I just saw the cover and couldn't be more excited about how funny the whole project turned out. I can't wait to tell you all about it very soon. But then there is the question of the third book.

It is a topic that is out of my comfort zone.

It is a subject that some people will not see coming.

It is different and a little bit crazy.

But, it is the book I've been living for the last 12 years. It is the culmination of the wildness of the last 3 years. It is the slingshot in my heart I feel God has been pulling taunt for reasons I can't explain.

And into that space comes something we're all familiar with. Doubt.

As soon as you try something different, doubt comes. Doubt is different from the concerned wisdom of friends. It's toxic and it's only aim is to stop you. I'm unfortunately getting a Phd in doubt right now, both from other people and from myself. You might have the same soundtrack inside that I do.

"Who are you to try that?"

"This is the wrong time. Wait."

"You're not talented enough to do that."

These are the things we hear and I've learned the reason why. It's actually pretty simple:

Doubt is talkative.

It's verbose. It's loud and constantly running at the mouth. And the surprising truth is that it's always been that way.

I actually noticed that fact the other day in the Old Testament. I'm trying to read the Bible in a year. I'm probably not going to make it considering it's October and I'm in Numbers. In the midst of reading Numbers 13, I noticed something.

The Israelites were on the edge of the Promised Land. They were on the precipice of realizing what God had declared to them. In order to understand the opposition, they send in 12 spies to scout out the land. The results fall into two different categories. One group is overcome with doubt, the other feels the adventure is possible.

Here is what the doubters say:

"We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."

Here is what Caleb, one of the two people who didn't doubt, said:

"We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."

Do you see the difference there? Do you see what happens?

The doubters use 72 words.

Caleb? He uses 16.

He barely says an entire sentence. And the doubters respond to him by saying:

"We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are. The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

All told, the doubters said 122 words to describe their plight. There were 122 words to describe the fear. Caleb said 16.

We should go up. We can certainly do it. Come on, we've got this.

It's so simple, it almost feels ridiculous, but it's not because in his words you can hear him saying, "Yeah, but God is on our side."

The people who live there are powerful! Yeah, but God is on our side.

The cities are fortified! Yeah, but God is on our side.

They are stronger than we are! Yeah, but God is on our side.

The land we explored devours those living in it! Yeah, but God is on our side.

We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes! Yeah, but God is on our side.

Again and again, word after word, the doubt is raised. It's talkative. It's the ocean. It keeps coming, but Caleb keeps believing "we can certainly do it."

And so can you.

Are the challenges difficult? Are there obstacle and reasons it shouldn't work numerous? Is it difficult for a busy mom to start a company she feels called to? Is it hard to go back to school and work at the same time? Should it be impossible for a blog to raise $32,250 in 24 hours?

Yeah, but God is on our side.

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