Faith vs Fear

I have had conversations with friends in the past about fear. I had one person tell me they were convinced that fear was one of the most powerful tools that Satan uses against us. I have heard that there are those that believe we cannot have faith and fear at the same time, that having one cancels out the other one. That makes me pause and think for a minute and I would like for you to think about it as well today.

Our faith is in God, the Father, that He will sustain us through all difficulties. Our faith is not that He will give us what we want, but that He will give us what we need. Our faith is that He has won the war even though it may seem as if we have lost a battle. Our faith is that He will work through us to accomplish His will. We need not fear.

However, we all experience fear from time to time. Sometimes it seems so close and vivid to my life. We have a tendency to try to do things without God’s help. We tend to worry over things instead of giving them to God. We tend to do things impulsively, without praying about them first. I don’t like to think about how many times I’ve decided I could take care of things myself, or how many times I ended up “fearing” the consequences of those decisions.

Interestingly enough, I looked on the Internet on a site and asked how many times "fear not" or "do not be afraid" was found in the Bible. According to the internet site that was returned, it said that these phrases were actually found 366 times. Let's see......there are 365 days in a year, except when there is leap year, then there are 366 days in a year. I wondered then, if there was any connection between "fear not" and the number of days in a year. Perhaps, what I need to take from this is that each day, I should not be afraid as I know I am in my Father's hands. Then I looked at faith and the word faith or the concept of faith is mentioned a total of 528 times. What's the message there? We are to have faith instead of fear.

The point isn’t really that we will have no fear. No matter how hard we try, Satan will make sure that we do. The point is that we recognize what fear is, where it comes from, and know that all we have to do is take it to God and lay it at His feet.

This is where the real faith comes in.

Have a "faith filled" week....

Don't give up!

As you may or may not know, I am in a very difficult season of my life. I use the word season as I know that as most seasons, it should change after a while of endurance. However, in this season of difficulty, I am reminded to stay obedient to Christ, disciplining myself and staying committed to Him. We are challenged in Scripture to fight the good fight and finish the race that has been set before us. We are challenged to do all we can do, while remaining content to do what we are called to do and leave the results in God's hands. There are several illustrations I could use to drive this point home, but one in particular may make what I am saying a little more clearer for us. Think of the winter Olympics for a moment. The snowboarders that participate, battle the elements and the fatigue that bad weather takes on their bodies is unbelievable. When the weather gets extremely bad and it makes it difficult for the snowboarders to see and navigate, one could easily give up and say "this is too difficult" or "I can't continue, I'm quitting". As the snowboarder continues, they may see some that have fallen along the way and again it would be very easy to take the easy way out.

We sometimes look up at the bottom of our own hill (current circumstances) and we've got a choice. We can climb and crawl our way up the hill with the help and grace of the Lord, who enables us - or give up and take the easier path. The devil constantly whispers "someone else will take up the prayer burdens on your heart, someone else will take over your responsibilities, it doesn't matter, you really don't make that much of a difference. There are others that have not struggled as hard as you in their circumstances so let them fight the fight.....let them run the race."

God has never given His people the option of the easy way out. I believe each of us is one of his people and we need to place our trust in His Word and we must challenge ourselves to keep our eyes on the prize, not allowing our fears and doubts to take us off of our course. And if we fall, or rather, when we fall, we will pray for that extra grace to pull ourselves up, climbing that hill that is set before us. And if we find ourselves facing yet a larger hill, we will rely on His grace to give us the momentum to soar up and over that hill, until we cross the finish line. Remember 1 Tim 6:12----fight the good fight......don't give up!