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Week Four:
What are the Benefits of Replacing your Faith with Fear:
Covid-19 is real, as is the fear that it brings to so many. From the one sitting at home worrying about staying healthy and how to pay the bills to the one struggling on the front lines of the virus in essential businesses caring for the sick, selling groceries, and keeping the community safe, Christ reaches out to calm the storms of fear that can paralyze and dominate people’s spirit in times such as these. Faith is the basic ingredient to begin a relationship with God. Faith is the assurance that the things revealed and promised in the Word are true, even though unseen, and gives the believer a conviction that what he expects in faith, will come to pass. Faith is a complete trust or confidence in something, which is living in this world, you need to have faith. You board an aeroplane because you have faith in the pilot to take you to your destination. There are many persons, places and things that we could put our faith in during our lifetime, but when it comes to things eternal we must make sure that we get it right. It is so easy to face new failures and fears and to lose faith in God’s plan for your life. We begin to question if God is real and if He cares about us. I want to encourage you with the truth that our Creator and Sustainer is working in and through you while you go through struggles. When you feel your faith is fading, read these Scriptures for guidance, support and reassurance that there is hope. Whether you need faith for healing, an unanswered prayer, or faith to persevere, our God is waiting and ready to give us His supernatural strength. Here is a list of scriptures on faith to encourage our faith and trust in God. You can also use the prayer below for inspiration when talking to God. “Fear not, for I am with you;Be not dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you,Yes, I will help you,I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV).
The human propensity to fear, other than in healthy reverence to God’s character, is used by the enemy to distract us from the full life in Christ we are called to live. Faith is a powerful muscle, but it must be developed in tandem to our relationship with Christ. Through His Holy Spirit living in us, we have the power to thwart fears that attempt to trip, badger, and harass us. Faith shields us from unhealthy fear. Fear bullies us into believing that if we step across the threshold we will fail, or worse yet, God will fail us.” Faith creates a barrier through which we can astutely filter fear, align it with God’s truth, and lay it at His feet. Developing faith that conquers fears takes daily discipline, constant prayer, knowledge of who God is, and recognizing who He says we are. If we aren’t willing to do the work of developing our faith, we will get caught in fear’s undertow. God has not given us a spirit of fear. “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV). Fear is a common thread of humanity, and our reaction to it exposes the condition of our faith. A long-distance runner must accumulate stamina and strength. We must persistently train ourselves to know and live God’s truth. It allows us to swap fear for peace, just as a runner pushes through impossible amounts of pain to go the full distance. Our view of God is limited on this earth. As we develop our faith, we begin to see glimpses of life through His eternal perspective. His perspective is eternal, He is just. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope” Romans 8:18-20 (NKJV).
God is in sovereign control, even as the earth unravels. When we’re tempted to fear all we fail to understand, faith keeps us from coming completely unglued. A transparent relationship with God is a powerful weapon over fear. Things we wouldn’t cry out to a soul on this earth we can freely bring to His presence. He hears us and is close to the brokenhearted. He lives in us, yet so often we don’t let Him in. We honor our fears over our God when we consider their strength to be more than the One that conquered death. We cannot live life to the full if we are running on empty. Faith is listening and trusting beyond what we can see and make sense of. Scripture says God shields the righteous, and to cast our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. Faith over fear is choosing Him every day, and every time something threatens to steal our attention. Christ never promised us easy, but He did promise we wouldn’t walk through anything alone. Faith, not fear, is the path forward for Covid-19. It is a path that begins in prayer, centers in Christ as revealed in Scripture, and is carried out in caring for others during this vital time of need. Faith holds on for dear life when the pain is unexplainable, unfair, and seemingly never-ending. Together, we can all work as one to be the people of faith God has called and created us to be. Fear is real, but perfect love casts out all fears so it is time Christians abandon the fear to the faith and love we know in Jesus Christ. God tells us that we will have troubles in this world and face some unknown, challenging times. However, He also promises that we have victory through our faith because Jesus Christ has overcome the world. If you are facing hard and uncertain times, you can be encouraged to press on knowing that you are an overcomer. “This is a faithful saying:For if we died with Him,We shall also live with Him.If we endure,We shall also reign with Him.If we deny Him,He also will deny us. If we are faithless,He remains faithful;He cannot deny Himself” 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NKJV).