Defy the OddsSample

David faced Goliath on the battlefield and made him familiar with God. But he didn’t stop there; he acted on the truth of God’s Word. If he had walked away after proclaiming God’s power, the Israelites would have remained frozen in fear on that battlefield, staring across at the Philistine army.

You can know Scripture and believe it to be true, but faith requires you to walk in God’s promises. James 1:22 instructs, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” And in 2:17, James says, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Therefore, you must face your fears, proclaim God’s power, but then fight your fears by pushing forward. You must walk out the promises and power of God in which you believe.

If you let fear determine your steps, you will remain still, but if you let faith determine your steps, there’s no limit to where God can lead you. Yes, the first step may be terrifying, and the second step will most likely be scary, too, but obedience does not require the absence of fear. It only requires complete reliance on God. Saying yes to Him in spite of fear is faith in action.

You can believe in a chair’s ability to support your weight, but you don’t trust in its ability until you sit down. I often say you can believe in soap and die dirty. The same is true for your walk with Christ—the evidence of your faith will remain unseen until action is involved. God wants you to step out in faith even when circumstances are frightening, and He promises to meet your every move along the way. Satan wants you to believe there is security in remaining still. But the safest place to be is the center of God’s will, and you must fight the urge to remain still by choosing to fight your fears head-on.

Following God when you’re fearful will be incredibly uncomfortable because everything in your flesh will scream “No!” But if you don’t push past the discomfort, you’ll never progress. Stretching can be painful, but it’s an indicator of growth. God will defy the odds in your life when you remain obedient to His calling no matter how fearful a situation becomes. His Word encourages and promises, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

God is ready and willing to see you through, but you must first decide that you won’t let fear steal your future.

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We hope you found this YouVersion plan helpful! You can read more from Benny Tate in his book Defy the Odds, available here .