Faith Over Fear!

Have I not commended you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, and do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

I am sure that there are many of us standing face-to-face with something fearful right now in our lives. The unknown creeps in and we are faced with situations that we never planned, wanted, or are prepared for. We are faced with a decision to confront our fear with strength and courage or run as far away from it as possible. But the reality of that decision is that it doesn’t come easy. So do we feed our fear or our faith instead? Will we choose to remain faithful, or will we allow the fear to drown us?

         I know that for some people faith just comes easy for them. However, I can tell you that I am not one of those people. Too many times I have let fear and doubt control my thoughts and decisions. If only I would have given my problems over to Christ and allow Him to reassure me in His promises. If I would have chosen to remain faithful in God’s promises, then the outcome of those situations and decisions could’ve been totally different.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7

See there, it reassures us that God gave us a spirit of power and self-control. He gave us the strength to stand up to fear and choose faith instead. We are able to choose to face and conquer fear with faith. God uses our weaknesses for power and strength. By trusting Him, we can make the choice to face fear head on and experience the goodness of God’s power.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

Psalm 56:3

Like I just mentioned, God uses our weaknesses for power. When we are faced with fear and weakness, He can turn those into faith and courage. True courage is admitting that we cannot face our fear on our own, but we can through Christ by trusting in Him to guide us through. When in the presence of fear and doubt we can ask God to give us the faith and courage to fight back. I read a blog by Dr. Margie Warrell a while back and she stated a quote that really stuck with me. She said, “Just because you cannot see the mountain top when you’re on the valley floor, doesn’t mean it’s not there.” Just remember that God has put you through this season in life for a reason, whether you know that yet or not, and He will help guide you through it. Stay strong in your faith and He will guide you through your trails and difficult seasons in life. Feed your faith instead, and seek God to help you fight your fears.