WE HAVE FEAR BECAUSE WE LACK FAITH IN GOD
“They [Adam and Eve] heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, ‘Where art thou?’ And he answered, ‘I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’”
Adam and Eve failed in their faith in the Lord when they ate from the tree He explicitly told them not to eat from. After they sinned, the first emotion they felt was fear. (Fear that they were naked and vulnerable? Fear that they realized they sinned against the one who created them? Fear that the Lord would punish them?)
You see, within the absence of faith, fear takes over. Fear stops us from acting righteously because within that fear is usually guilt or shame or the feeling that we aren’t strong enough to face whatever is before us. Fear beats the willingness to humble ourselves and admit to our wrong doing or face the fact that we really aren’t strong enough and we need help; we need a miracle; we need God.
Adam and Eve may have cursed the human race, but Jesus made it possible to live again. Jesus is the sight we should set our eyes on when we think of faith. Jesus is the one to have faith in because He will save us from our fears, He will resurrect us from the dead, He will and already has conquered the evil one, and He will make us as white as snow even though our sins are like scarlet (Isaiah 1:18). Fear was the first emotion of man, but it doesn’t have to be
the last.
UNWAVERING FAITH: THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE BIBLE
When fear comes to shake us, our initial instinct is to cower away. We fear for our lives more than we fear God. But when I read the Bible, I am overcome with all of the moments men and women all but batted an eye in the face of evil because of their strong faith in God. We need to learn from these children of God; we need to follow in their footsteps of undeniable faith.
Rather than succumbing to fear of the fire, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had faith that God would protect them.
King Nebuchadnezzar declared that anybody who did not worship the image of gold, would be thrown into the blazing furnace. The three men of God told the King that their Lord will deliver them out of the furnace. But even if He didn’t, they still wouldn’t worship the Kings’ false god and man-made piece of gold (Daniel 3:16-18). Because of their faith, the Lord delivered them out of the blazing furnace.
Rather than fearing death, Esther risked her life for the chance to save the Jews.
There was a ruling passed to destroy all the Jews, while Esther — a Jew — was Queen. This almost Holocaust was saved by Esther’s faith in the Lord. She told her cousin, Mordecai, to round up all of the Jews and fast for her, and said that she would do the same for three days. After that, she would go to the King: which she was forbidden to do (and if she did, she would be killed). “And if I perish, I perish” she said to her cousin (Esther 4:16). Queen Esther risked her life for the chance to save the lives of her people.
She laid down her life, and Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” It is also said that, “He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). Thus, proving that Queen Esther dwelt in God and God in her. She was faithful unto the end, even unto her death. But it did not get that far. The King heard her plea and reversed the ruling, saving the Jews, and saving Queen Esther’s life as well.
Rather than fearing death itself, Jesus had faith His Father’s plans were greater than His concerns.
When Peter rebuked Jesus’ prediction of His death, Jesus turned and told Peter to get behind Him, calling him “Satan.” Jesus knew that anyone trying to get in the way of His Father’s plans was just like Satan: trying to derail the good works of the Lord. Jesus wanted Peter to know that God’s plans must be his only concerns, and that death is a part of life. Jesus even continues to say to all the disciples, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25). Jesus did not fear His death, for He knew His Father had a plan. He knew that He would be raised again, defeating death and defeating Satan once and for all.
THE POWER OF FAITH
“And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief…”
This verse tells us that the lack of faith within the Nazareth community directly related to how many miracles Jesus could perform. Isn’t that a wonder? It really paints the picture that our faith in Jesus is everything. Faith is what allows His miracles to happen. Without faith, miracles are impossible… Because without faith, God is not welcomed in the presence of non-believers… And of course, we all know the classic verse, “…With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
If God is not present, things start to feel impossible. Miracles become less and less. Fear and depression and anxiety start to rise. But with faith the sick are healed, the dead come to life, fear ceases to exist, and more… Our faith is everything.
Faith is our most powerful weapon against life; fear is the most powerful weapon against us.
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