Where do you spend most of your time…in fear or faith? You have a “natural” faith of things: awakening each morning knowing the sun will shine or putting your foot on the brake trusting the car will stop. You have faith when you board a plane that the pilot did not have an alcoholic drink before coming to work.
God has allotted to each of us a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) which can be as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20). I was definitely a “doubting Thomas,” needing to see it to believe it (John 20:27). Hebrews chapter 11 is a good read recounting the faith of Old Testament forefathers. Faith, like a muscle, needs to be used, exercised. This can be done by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), speaking it (Mark 11:23), living by faith (2Corinthians 5:7).
I don’t tend to be a fearful, anxious person. I learned many years ago to not project and worry about things in the future, which very often never even come to pass. You’ve heard quotes, “stay in the now” and “live in the present moment,” which I agree with, but my belief is the opposite of fear is faith and I put faith in Jesus Christ. Two scriptures in Haggai, say it clearly: “‘I am with you’ declares The Lord” (v1:13) and “my Spirit abides in your midst; do not fear!” (v2:5). Ponder this saying, “Don’t worry about tomorrow because God is already there.” Yet, fear, worry and anxiety plague us. When researching this topic, I got conflicting results as to how many times this most often repeated commandment, “Do not fear” or “Fear not” appears in the bible. Whether it is at least 80, if not 200-365 times, the resounding message is that with faith and standing firm in the Lord, there is no fear (Exodus 14:13) (Psalm 56:3), (Psalm 118:6), (Isaiah 41:10), (Luke 12:7).
There is scripture for every fear you are facing. Fear of failure? 2Timothy 1:7, Joshua 1:5&9. Fear of an enemy? Zephaniah 3:15. Fear of rejection/disapproval? Romans 8:31. Need help? Psalm 46:1-2. Want strength? Daniel 10:19. And of course, Psalm 23:4 for death, dismay. There is a “fear” I encourage you to practice. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). Fear in this context means to have a deep respect, reverence and awe. Fearing God is discipline and instruction (Psalm 86:11) that leads to provision, prosperity and perpetuity (Deuteronomy 5:29) and prolongs life (Proverbs 10:27). Blessed are those who fear the Lord (Psalm 112:1)!
Your heavenly Father loves and values you so much, wanting to provide for you. Cure worry and anxiety (Philippians 4:6-7). Choose faith over fear. Read Matthew 6:25-34 to grow your faith and let’s pray over fe****************@gm***.com
Meet me next month, June 4, to discuss the third “F”…Fire!
I close, in the fruit of the spirit given to all believers: peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
