The feeling of fear can result in many different things. Fear can either make or break us. When people are afraid you can get a clear idea of what their true character is. Out of fear Simon Peter denied Jesus three times before His crucifixion. The fear factor can dominate most of our daily lives if we let it. In the face of trouble, the feeling of fear can be quickly dissolved if and when you put your trust in GOD. When you do this He puts His peace in our hearts. He gives us a relief which cannot be gained from any other source. Knowing that the Almighty GOD, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, is on your side and fighting your battle for you. We are to have an unwavering faith in GOD. A faith that is rarely moved in the face of uncertain circumstances, financial trouble or whatever your giant may be.
Examples of people who exercised this kind of unwavering faith is David. In the face of trouble he knew that he was on the winning Side, because he knew the unfailing GOD in whom he had put his trust would rescue him from the hands of the "uncircumcised Philistine" Goliath(1 Samuel 17). The same way GOD had delivered him from the paw of the bear and that of the lion, He also delivered him from the hand of Goliath. See, in the face of trouble, David knew the GOD whom he served and was not intimidated by Goliath as the armies of Israel were. He remembered the LORD's faithfulness and power in his past experiences. GOD's love, care, protection and guidance surrounded David all the time. David, though he was just a youth knew for certain that Goliath would be defeated at his hand; not because he fought in his own strength but because he was not fighting on his own. The battle was "the LORD's" (vs 47). When the Philistine and the people looked at him, they saw just as youth, but GOD saw a king. That same David found favor in the eyes of GOD and later became king. When GOD's annointing is on somebody everybody knows it. Failure will scarcely take place in that person's life because their hope is in the Almighty GOD.
Fear when not properly checked is a hindrance in every sense of the word. Fear can stop you from accomplishing your goals and can ensure that dreams never become a reality. It can be so immobilising that you just don't do anything for fear of what might happen if you try. Fear comes in many forms.
- fear of the unknown
- fear of people- being afraid of what people will think of you- Solution- remember that GOD loves you unconditionally and you are ultimately secure with Him and accepted by Him.
- fear of making mistakes -(stems from perfectionism)
- fear of death
But Jesus says that we are not to worry. (Matthew 6) Our lives are in His hands. Our times are in His hands. (Psalm 31:15) He assures us that before we were even born, before He formed us in the womb He knew us. (Jeremiah 1:5) He knows everything about us (Psalm 139:1-5) and He is the One who is ultimately in control of our circumstances. Countless times in the Bible GOD commands us not to be afraid because He is with us. (Joshua 1:9, Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 6:25, Matthew 10:19. Be encouraged friend. GOD is with you.
FAITH
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
Hebrews 11
Faith in Action
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[c] 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[d]
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Faith = a living unshakeable confidence
Faith is the unfaltering confidence in GOD. He is able to do all things. And nothing is impossible for Him to do. What He says, it will be done. He is not a man that He should lie. He knows this. It is just for us to know and believe. Often when we are tried and tested we forget all that GOD can do and has done for others in ages past. GOD is faithful.
We can be sure that GOD loves us because we have faith in Him and in His faithfulness and also in His unchanging character. The fact that GOD has said repeatedly that He loves us and delights in us (John 3:16, 1 John 3:1, Psalms 145:13-20)
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