Faith or Fear?! Two opposing forces that effect every choice we make. It affects our response to things that life throws at us. It shapes how we go through good times and band times. According to the dictionary app- Faith is, “confidence or trust in person or thing,” and fear is, “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined.” In times when all is going well, it’s easy to remain in the wheelhouse of faith in our responses and actions. It is when life throws things at us that difficult that our faith becomes challenged, but it is also during these times that we allow ourselves to be driven by either faith or fear. It challenges us to take a hard look at where we truly have our trust. Is our trust in God? In self? In others? The answer to the question, “in whom or what do I truly trust?” affects our response in good times and times of trouble, grief, and crisis.

I understand fear first hand. It’s paralyzing. Decisions made out of fear, whether based on good or bad situations, are clouded in doubt, chaos, and indecision. For example: If I don’t get that stove while it is on sale, then I’ll not be able to afford it or it’ll be unavailable later. That’s a fear based decision. I’ve found that fear based decisions steal my peace and leave my spirit unsettled most of the time. Sometimes fear keeps me from making any decision at all because I’m not sure any decision I make will be a good one. I end up telling myself the lie that it’s better to just stay put in a spot of “comfort”-the known, even if it’s not healthy.

Faith or fear? This is something that challenged me when I had a recent emergency surgery at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. I had a choice: Do I respond with faith or fear? Gratitude or grumbling? Prayer and praise or despair and doubt? As a proclaiming Christian, my decisions would either strengthen my faith walk and testimony or it would move me, and possibly others, farther from God and make my testimony weaker. Did I want to look like those that don’t have the hope, joy, and peace the Lord gives us in good and bad times? God is unchanging, so I had to decide if I was going to stay steadfast in knowing His character and faithfulness or if was I going to allow the fear of the unknown immobilize me.

Faith calls us to mobilize in prayer and praise, our greatest weapons in times of troubles. It gives me genuine confidence, “God confidence,” as Joyce Meyers once called it as opposed to worldly confidence, trusting primarily in myself and others. Power is released in the unseen spiritual realm with prayer and praise. The spiritual realm is where the real battle for Christians takes place. The enemy flees at the name of Jesus and when we praise and pray. The enemy thrives when we become so immobilized by fear that chaos and doubt take the forefront, making God’s people feel so defeated that they stop praying and praising. I’ve struggled with feeling defeated and have found it difficult to pray and praise in difficult times. I only waiver when I take my eyes off God and become self-focused. When we stop praying and praising, the enemy has, in a sense, gained the upper hand in the spiritual battle, and we are not using the power and authority that the blood of Jesus gives us.

So, why do we not stay strong in times of despair? Everybody must answer this question on their own, for themselves. We know we serve a faithful Father who is for us and desires to bless us. Yes, there is still diseases and other bad things in our world. I don’t understand why some people are healed and others aren’t–why good people experience bad or why some prayers are answered and others aren’t–but I do know that God is good, that we are called to pray for healing, and that we should trust and love the Lord with all our heart, unconditionally loving others as He has loved us. We must keep our eyes focused on Him. We are called to be grateful for all we do have, for new ways of doing things, and for new challenges. Challenges force us to grow. They force us to be creative, to get out of the rut of complacency and busy-ness, to enjoy the little things, to shift focus and evaluate what’s truly important.

I see a renewing in the midst of these crazy times. I see families spending time together that they didn’t have before. Parents are learning to be creative with their kids. Communities are pulling together. The Church working in new ways to engage and encourage members, a forced slowing down during this self-isolation period. Introverts are loving the situation a bit more than extroverts, but it is giving people opportunities to self-reflect, almost like a reset button. We are even seeing signs of the Earth healing: canals in Venice becoming clear and fish returning, pollution over China dissipating!

In the midst of all the craziness and challenges, there is good. Can you see it? Will you choose to stay grateful and faithful, or will you simply choose to be negative and fearful? It’s a choice only you can make, and it will affect how you will ride this storm or any storm during this journey of life. Choosing faith over fear left me feeling peace during my surgery and recovery, knowing God was orchestrating my journey.

Personally, having God as my anchor, putting my trust in Him and His promises, helps me enjoy every day He gives me. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t always been this way. Occasionally during difficult times, I still struggle, but since I have made the choice to fully trust and lean on God no matter what, I have had more peace and joy, no matter the circumstances that arise. It empowers me to encourage others and be a conduit of God’s love.

I pray you choose to trust Him fully in all circumstances. It will change how you live and respond to life. I know it did for me. Spend time with Him: read his word, pray, be grateful, encourage others, and never doubt His unconditional and passionate love for you! Choose Faith over Fear! Many blessings to you and yours!