The Enemy Loves Beginners
He doesn’t waste time on seeds that won’t grow
The Quiet Panic
Some seasons of life feels like standing in the dark wondering if we’ve been planted or are being buried. You can’t breathe, see the light at the end of the tunnel, and constantly wonder, “Is this purpose or punishment? Was this a mistake?”
It seems like everyone else knows what they’re doing while you’re just hoping and praying that they dont notice how unsure you feel. You tell yourself you’re not cut out for it, someone else could’ve done it better, they’re more qualified, or you’re not ready. You reread texts, replay conversations or scenarios, overanalyze every move trying to prove that you belong or trying to pinpoint where it went wrong. The longer you sit in this never ending cycle of rumination, the heavier it feels.
But what if what feels like a burial is actually planting? What if this punishment is actually preparation?
Isn’t it strange how this fear doesn’t show up at the point of failure? It usually holds us captive right when we’re about to succeed. This incredibly nasty feeling is what the world refers to as imposter syndrome. Spiritually, **I think this the the moment right before a seed plants its roots.
Where the Work Really Begins
Imposter syndrome shows up when we doubt ourselves despite the successes we’ve had. Even though we have concrete evidence that we are indeed not a loser and a failure, something within us convinces us otherwise. Our brain starts to associate new with unsafe.
From ages 23 to 27, my confidence was overthrown day by day with what felt impossible to describe at the time. I was a young woman selling to world-class surgeons and sharp, seasoned business professionals who’d been doing this longer than I’d been on this earth. Each time I went to have a conversation, there was a little voice that would send me into a panic, telling me that they knew I wasn’t equipped for this job. It was like going into a test every single day that I hadn’t studied for. Day in and day out, I was trying to prove I belonged in these giant rooms where I felt small.
Looking back on it, this is where the real growth began. I wasn’t drowning. I was growing roots. The pain in every conversation was growing pains I had never felt before. This pressure was the weight of new soil around a seed that hadn’t yet taken its roots.
When I got the sales job that moved me to my dream location, the feeling only intensified. I was 26, up against a competitor who had twenty years of relationships and influence in my territory. Each day was its own battle between faith and fear. Some days, gratitude was all I had. Thanking God that He was still providing.
It wasn’t until I stopped fighting the discomfort and started trusting the soil I was rooting myself into that things started to shift. Once I focused on tending to it with my faith, consistency, and mindset, He gave me what had been on my heart all along.
Imposter syndrome is just insecurity and resistance. That sneaky thief doesn’t show up when you’re failing. He shows up when you’re growing. The enemy knows if he can make you doubt your own worth, then he can keep you from blooming where you’re meant to produce, “…a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
The Soil Beneath the Seed
Heres the truth of the matter: the enemy doesn’t waste time on seeds that have no potential. He attacks what’s growing and important to us. Imposter syndrome is one of his most convincing lies, whispering, “you’re not good enough. you’re not qualified. you’re not ready.” That voice often disguises itself as our own.
But think about it…
If you’re stepping into something that aligns with your soul, why would your own mind try to talk you out of it?
That’s when I started to recognize the pattern. A seed can fall on different ground, and our growth depends on the quality of soil we’re rooted in.
The Parable of the Sower has been heavy on my heart lately. The same seed has the same amount of potential every single time it’s planted. The difference is in the soil.
Some of us seeds fall on the path and get swept away by the enemy (that’s why he doesn’t need to go after them folks…). Some fall on rocky ground, excited at first but in soil too shallow to survive the elements. Things will look and feel fantastic for a bit when it’s all easy and we’re confident. Others fall on thorny grounds where fear, comparison, and distraction reside. Where we want to grow, but those weeds choke out our faith and potential before it even gets a chance.
Then, there are the seeds that fall into good soil, where faith takes root and holds them firm feeding into them to grow strong. Good soil looks different. It’s not easier, but it’s tended to with intention. It’s rich with patience, consistency, humility, self-confidence, and mostly importantly, prayer. This is where faith is watered daily, even when nothing has sprouted yet.
When imposter syndrome decides to make its grand appearance, it’s a sign that we’re still in the in-between stages and underground. Where growth is happening but we can’t see it yet. This is when the soil matters the most. If we stay rooted in the good soil (truth, discipline, and faith), the seed we planted will always break through and sprout to who we’re becoming.
Staying Rooted
So how do we beat this guy? There are three things you can do today to win:
Call it what it is
Start by calling it what it is. You’re a beginner, not an imposter. Beginners belong exactly where they are. At the start of learning what they’re meant to learn.
The enemy thrives on confusing us. When he can’t turn truth into insecurity, he’s going to try and keep you from realizing that this discomfort is the evidence of growth. It’s not the proof of failure. Naming it for what it is will take away its power.
Reminders of what’s true
Tell yourself what is factual. If you took all of your thoughts to court, what would the jury say? Root yourself in facts not feelings. You’ve been placed, not misplaced. You’re growing, not failing. You’re learning, not pretending.
Stay rooted in the process
Once you’ve named the lie and reminded yourself of what is true, you now must stay rooted where God has planted you. Growth takes time, and being consistent is how you prove your faith. Keep showing up. Keep tending to your own soil through gratitude, prayer, discipline, and obedience. Even when you can’t see progress, trust that the roots are forming beneath the surface.
Anytime we take the leap into something new, our first instinct is to look around and question ourselves and our qualifications to be there. Faith tells us we’re being planted, not buried. This is why the soil matters so much. Rooting yourself in good soil curates an environment where your confidence grows deeper than your fear. The work itself might feel unseen for awhile, but that doesn’t mean it’s not working. One day, what felt like a weight will reveal itself as the thing that helped you grow stronger roots.
Imposter syndrome will always, without a shadow of a doubt, meet you in the middle of who you’re becoming. He’ll show up when you’re on the cusp of growing stronger, whispering doubt into places where blooming is finally starting to take place. The next time that voice creeps in, just remember, pressure means something is happening below the surface. Roots are forming and strengthening. Faith is deepening.
You’re not being buried; you’re being planted. Someday, when what’s been growing in the dark finally breaks through the surface, you’ll see that every bit of doubt was proof that you were standing in the middle of your transformation all along.
This essay was just the beginning.
Growth Beneath the Surface is the guided reflection version — designed to help you put these words into practice through journaling, Scripture, and faith-based mindset work.
It’s one of several digital guides I’m creating exclusively for annual subscribers — little companions for every season of growth.
If any of these words resonated with you, and you’d like to support me while I keep writing more of these reflections,
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love this so much sissy