Faux Real: Fear Or Faith, You Choose.Smakprov

Handling Fear.

As a believer, it is vitally important to understand that while we are victorious in this life, it does not mean that we do not ever experience defeat. Defeat often produces fear because defeat can easily develop into despair. 

However, can I illuminate that defeat also holds the potential to produce a deeper dependency on God? This is the ultimate goal of the Christian life: not independence from God but a greater dependence with every step.

In Second Corinthians; Paul is writing to two groups within the same setting: those who are overly commending themselves and, at the same time, those who are constantly disqualifying themselves. This second group can be just as destructive as the first. 

In fact, because of circumstances, attitudes, and environments, the most destructive thing to God’s plan for you could actually be you and your very own disqualification of yourself. 

I love the way the Bible is written because time and time again we see the invitation to “take courage” or “take heart,” as if to indicate that at any given time or moment in life what is available to us is both faith and fear. Almost like the choice is yours. In any given situation or circumstance, you can choose fear or you can take faith. 

I’m talking about holding on to faith when you’re out of work and your rent is past due. I’m talking about holding on to faith when your child is sick and has been hospitalized. I'm talking about holding on to faith in the midst of fearful situations.

So how do we hold on to faith when the fear is too much to handle?

In the book of Joshua, we find the Lord God commanded Joshua to not be discouraged. God informs him that He has already delivered into his hands the very opponent that just defeated them. 

It is essentially the same thing that God said to Joshua when they faced the wall of Jericho. He said to Joshua, “See, I have given you the city.” Even though what is standing between Joshua and that city is a heavily fortified wall, God says “It’s yours.” 

This is what can be most confusing in the life of the believer -- when what you see in front of you and in your life doesn't look like what God said about your life, and more often than not, it’s our own self-disqualification that often determines our reality. 

However, what if we were to combat our weaknesses with confidence in God’s strength? What if we began to boast in the Lord? I think we will find our confidence will rise as a result of our own confession.