Fear Not! Faith Devotionsနမူနာ

Faith Cometh By Hearing

“The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said: ‘Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear’” (Isaiah 8:11-13).

Isaiah is trying to convince the king of Judah not to form an alliance with the Assyrians. Israel and Aram had attacked Judah and the king was in panic mode. All options were on the table, even seeking help from an enemy. There is a saying that “adversity makes strange bedfellows” and this would certainly qualify.

Have you ever gone into panic mode and made the wrong decision in the heat of the moment? Fear can distort your natural thought process and sometimes make you think irrationally. The unknown can certainly create fear if left unchecked.

The polar opposite of fear is faith. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). So the question becomes, What is the object of your faith? If you choose to put your faith in the government or in the stock market or anything other than God, you are going to find yourself frequently disappointed. God, on the other hand, will not disappoint.

You may recall in the movie Hook where Peter Pan came back to get his kids, but he forgot how to fly. Peter had grown up and lost all his Pan mojo. He had to learn to think and act like a kid again to get it back.

When it comes to God’s word, we need to read it with a childlike faith. If it says it, then believe it. Isaiah tells us, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). God’s word is time-tested, tried, and true.

If you are a little low on faith, Paul gives us one surefire way to grow it. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Why not pour yourself a big bowl of faith today?

Prayer: Dear God, I pray for childlike faith. I know faith does not grow on trees. I realize faith is like a muscle and I must exercise it in order to grow it. May I be faithful in building mine up. I pray I will not make any decisions based upon my fear, but rather have my faith serve as my filter through which all decisions flow. In Jesus name, amen.