“Not Intimidated,” believe it or not, was born out of an attempt to stave off road rage.

To give a bit of context, I was living in the Gulf at that time, and driving there can be a fearsome experience. The roads are built for speed and replete with massive luxury SUVs as well as a predominantly younger population that loves to race. The moniker “speed lane,” is taken very literally, and many people, including my husband, have been rammed into at speeds in excess of 100km per hour by reckless drivers. Thus, seeing a speeding SUV in the rear view mirror and the resulting fear of being rammed into was a constant cause for anxiety.

It was in this state while being tailgated by a driver in a brand-new Land Cruiser that I said to myself, I am NOT intimidated, I won’t let fear rule me and then I burst out singing “Not intimidated, I won’t walk in fear.”

Whilst I was triggered by the road rage, I knew I was speaking not just about the intimidation that is rife on the roads but the culture of intimidation that exists in that part of the world where as expatriates, the threat of job loss and a subsequent hasty exit from the country constantly hung over our heads. Realising that a song was being born, I whipped out my phone at a red-light signal and sang into the voice recorder and forgot about it as is the case with so many song-starts.

A few years later our church was going through a time where we were going through a rough patch with several members going through a tough season. We were also trusting God for a breakthrough that would legitimize the church in Qatar. We as leaders were being intentional about praying through that season and asking God for a breakthrough. At the time we were also preparing to relocate to Canada. Someone asked me to record a song for the church before leaving. As I scrolled through the many song-starts on my phone I saw this one and started singing the recorded portions. As I sang, I started to think about why we are not intimidated by circumstances and the works of the enemy. As I thought about the victory that Jesus won for us on the cross, the lyrics just overflowed. They were born essentially from two scriptures:

2 Timothy 1: 7 (ESV): For God has not given us a spirit of cringing, fawning fear but of power and love and of a sound mind.

1 John 4:4 (ESV) : Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than He who is in the world.

I knew that those words were real and were for the church in that season. We would not be intimidated by every obstacle and curveball the enemy threw in our paths! The music project ended up as a demo, and we successfully relocated to Canada.

During those early days in the Country, we had to cling to the victory that Jesus won for us as we battled niggling health crises, completed a PhD, believed God for schools and jobs–basically everything. We were in a new environment with no acquaintances and thus had to live trusting Jesus for his leading in every aspect of our lives.

Fast forward a few years later, and we were in the middle of the pandemic. Those words I’d first written over six years ago were even more meaningful in those days when fear was and is still on the rampage. We knew that this was the right season, and so we (Dave Siverns and I) updated the lyrics and released the song.

As the Bible says in Romans 1:17 (ESV), “the righteous” shall live by faith.” I believe that those words couldn’t be more significant than in our day where so many things want to steal our peace, joy and hope. In these moments, let us turn our eyes to our Lord Jesus who has dealt the enemy a deadly blow and is our source of hope and peace in the middle of life’s storms. I pray that we will be a people who believe God’s words and walk in his victory as the song says.

Claire Odogbo is a Singer-Songwriter, Author, Worship leader and Life Coach. She holds a PhD in Economics, an MBA, CPA and is a certified life breakthrough coach. She is passionate about helping people and organizations find and pursue their God-given purpose. She currently resides with her family in Ontario, Canada.