Choosing Faith Over Fear
It seems like the subject of choices has come up over and over the past few weeks. I have read about choices in my daily devotional studies, in articles I have come across...and yes, I included it in last Sunday's sermon. I guess I am coming to realize more than ever that most of our lives are dictated by our own decisions. We might not be able to choose the hand we are dealt, but we can choose how to play the cards in our hand.
That might mean ethical or moral choices that determine whether we choose to be obedient to God and His word, or to sin against Him. It might be in other areas, where our choices are not so much about right and wrong, but between wise and foolish. Other choices involve things that we choose to do on a consistent basis, to build disciplines and habits into our lives. And those habits, in the end, will form our character.
But there are other choices we make that involve our perspective. Yes, we can choose how we see the things that happen to us, and how we will respond. You can choose to live under the circumstances, or above them. You can choose to be a victim, or a victor. You can choose worry, or you can choose faith.
George Muller once said, "The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety." That is, those things don't really co-exist, and we have to make the choice between worry and belief, between fear and faith.
That may sound like an over-simplification of faith, but it isn’t. It is just narrowing it down to the simplest common denominator of what drives us, in the simple choices in front of us. And it is consistent with what Jesus taught. When He sought to comfort the synagogue ruler Jairus, whose daughter had just died, He offered two contrasting choices: "Don't be afraid; just believe." (Luke 8:50)
In reality, fear and faith are incompatible. One always works to crowd out the other. We don't always call it fear. Sometimes it's just a little worry, or a little anxiety. But whatever you call it, those anxious thoughts come because we aren't putting our confidence in God's ability to take care of us and our situation.
You will have many choices before you today. Some will be between right and wrong, others less consequential between right and left. But when it comes down to trusting God, I hope you'll recognize the simple choice in front of you, and choose faith over fear. I promise that is a decision that you will never regret.
I am grateful for each of you, and I pray the Lord would grow your faith even in times when it may seem natural to be afraid. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
--Pastor Ken
