Faith vs Fear: Which One Will You Choose?

Boy I tell you....a life without faith is a scary one.

I recently, and unknowingly, put my own faith to the test with some irresponsible life decisions. It happens. You act in a way that you know you shouldn't only to later regret it all and have to deal with the remnants of your decision. That's where I am, dealing with the remains, but trying to remain faithful in the midst of it all. It's not easy, at all. People think that being faithful just means saying "Let go, let God" and it's all good. In theory that's how it's supposed to go, but in reality not so much. Faith is a job, a process that you have to fight for. Fighting to ignore the natural instincts of worrying, obsessing, and stressing. I want/need to change my natural instincts. I want faith to be my first emotion, not fear. I want a life that reflects the use of faith, and not the jolts of fear. In order to get what I wanted, I had to see what I was missing. I had to experience fear and in my experience I saw that faith is greater than fear, always.

Fear will give you multiple reasons to worry; faith gives you one reason to stay hopeful.
For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Isaiah 41:13

Your mind starts to race as you think of all the "what-ifs" that life can throw at you.I trust the Lord is going to take care of my every need, but sometimes I get fearful of His plan to do so. What if His plan is not what I want it to be? What if His plan is hard? What if His plan causes me pain? That's fear. Faith requires on one reason to stay hopeful, the promise that is Jesus. It's already taken care of and it's better than you imagined. 

Faith gives you access to Gods purpose; fear distracts from His bigger plan.
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

The time you are spending being fearful, the less opportunity for you to see God's promise and plan. Get the fear out of your eyes so that you can see the beauty of His work through faith. 

Fear can cripple you to the core; faith will calm the wildest of storms within.
 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
Psalms 94:19

I know what it feels like to be so worried about something that I've felt sick to my stomach. I've had shaky hands. I've felt weak. It's a scary thing. And the only thing that helped me was to focus on the Lord. It amazed me how calm my body became when my focus shifted from one of fear to one of faith and Jesus. 

Faith says focus on Jesus; fear says focus on my faults.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18 

When your focus is fear it could be because of an equally unsettling emotion; guilt. Do you feel like you deserve what's going to happen? Ar you feeling convicted for your choices. If so apologize for what you've done, then change your thoughts. Stop giving energy to what you did and focus on how Jesus can help you to make better choices in the future. Be faithful that He will bring you through and make you better. 

Fear says "You deserve" and "You messed up"; faith says "I forgive you" and "I love you".
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

God is not keeping a diary of all your wrongdoings to condemn you for it for the rest of your life. When you ask for forgiveness from God, you are truly given forgiveness. He still loves you, no matter what you have done. Stop letting fear convince you that God wants to hurt you because He doesn't. 

Faith is needed at all times; fear is never needed at all.
I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears
Psalms 34:4

Faith needs to become a daily practice, not just a tool to use in the presence of fear. Learn to be faithful for everything, big and small. As you begin to acknowledge the faithful thoughts, it becomes easier to ignore the feelings of fear. Be careful! The feelings and thoughts filled with fear can sneak up on you at any time. Be ready with your faith. 

Fear comes in many forms; faith is a solitary concept.
Don't worry-I am with you. Don't be afraid-I am your God.
Isaiah 41: 10

Have you ever looked at the many types of phobias that exist? There are hundreds. Who ever thought there could ever be so many ways to categorize your fear, almost as a means to justify it by giving it a name. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia? Really? The fear of long words? Unnecessary. You only need one way to categorize your faith...in God, who already took care of it all. 

Faith reminds you of His promises; fear causes you to forget all that He's already done.
But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you
1 Samuel 12:24

It's a daily struggle to choose faith over fear. I struggle with it by the minute sometimes. Faith does not mean that everything will turn out my way in the end, but that everything will be okay in the end. I determined that for every excuse to be fearful, I need to come up with a reason to be faithful. This typically entails me reflecting on the crazy things life has thrown at me and then seeing how I am still here. It, whatever it is, did not take me out or put me down. I learned from it and continue to grow daily. I wont fear life, life will fear my God. I challenge you to examine the things that you fear in your daily life, then develop faith over those things. Train yourself to have faith before fear when life starts to pop off.

Peace and faith, beautiful people!

xo,

BLT