Turning Fear into Faith

What if we stopped looking at our failure as a probability, and more like propaganda? Often times when we see the possibility of failure on the horizon- in a relationship, in education, a dream, etc., we tend to make that possibility our fact and our focus. Even the most optimistic of people will get to a point where they begin bracing themselves for the worst because the facts of a situation conclude what’s coming.

When the “facts” aren’t facts at all: 

But what if the faith God is asking you for isn’t the faith you had to believe in the vision to begin with. What if the faith he’s asking for is the kind that makes you stop bracing for failure and start bracing yourself for a glorious victory, right here in the midst of opposition and possible failure? What if your greatest victory was how you dealt with the possibility of there being no victory at all? When you get to the finish line, it won’t just be the reached goal that you’re thankful for. It will be all the deep areas of growth you experienced before you even got there. And those moments only come from the moments like this, when you get to look fear in the face and decide that your facts are no competition for your faith. 

Resetting Reality: 

The kingdom of God spreads when one seed dies and then more things sprout up from it (Mark 4:26). As an ambassador of the Kingdom you need to reset your idea of what it means to fail. Because as a Christian, you’re going to face the world’s idea of “failure” a lot. And until you realize that opposition is fertilizer for the victory, you’ll stay stuck in fear instead of prophesying your promises that cause hell to tremble. 

Hell doesn’t tremble because you speak something you don’t believe. Hell trembles because your boldness and faith makes room for God’s power to undeniably intervene. God can’t help but move on behalf of those with faith (Mark 2:4, Luke 17:19). God is always extending, but faith is the door that opens our hearts to receive. What if God has been extending the victory to you all along, and the only thing stopping God's will from working out for your life is your constant choice to choose fear instead? Would you consider opening your heart up to believing that God can do something greater than what your situation is speaking? If you have faith, God is acting.When you walk in boldness, enemies flee and strongholds break because the power of the living God is always behind it. Faith makes impossible things possible. Each and every time.

Understand that Fear is a lie:

I used to be highly afraid of electricity because it's unpredictable, uncontrollable, and more powerful than me. I had an aunt who was electrocuted by a microwave while standing next to it with her phone, and that was the end all for me. The reason I say that is, there's a verse in the Bible that declares:

"God tells the lightening where to strike."

(Job, 36:32, 38:35)

The thing that's unpredictable is predictable to Him. 

The thing that's uncontrollable is controllable for Him.

And He has power over all powers.

You must make the choice to stop fearing the unpredictable, the uncontrollable, and the powerful. You have a God who is bigger than it all. The true, unseen reality is that he's the one in control, predicting it all, and overpowering it all. And He tells your lightening where to strike.

That is why fear is the essence of believing a lie. Fear is more than just doubting God is able, it is believing your "facts" over the reality of who God says He is. If you don't have faith, it's because you are believing a lie. “Perfect love casts out all fear” simply because God is Perfect Love, and when you behold Him you recognize who’s really in control. (1 John 4:18)

Fixing Your Focus:

It’s this simple: When you abide with God, he melts away your fear. The more time you spend in His presence, beholding perfect love, the more your reality will shift to align with what God says is true. You become whatever you behold, and it's your choice each and every day to behold the lies of the enemy that say "fear," or behold the perfect love of God and choose to trust in Him.

Regardless of who started the war, God’s the one finishing it in your life. God didn’t start the battle between good and evil to get glory, Satan did. But God will still have His glory in the earth, and the same remains true for your life. The cause of your situation, and even what your situation may currently look like, never holds more authority than God to determine what is true and what the results of any given situation will be.

Turning fear into faith starts with you coming to God. God will do the work of changing your perspective as you do the work of keeping your focus on Him. When You fix your eyes on God, everything you look at has to filter through the truth of who He is first. By this, God establishes your perspective on His reality, and even when things look like they are dying, you can stand firm in your confidence that He is in control and making everything work out for your good (Romans 8:28).

The Upward Cycle:

If the enemy is causing fear inside of you about your future, it’s not because he’s after you as an individual. He’s after the fruit of your labors- the people you were meant to impact. Faith is an upward cycle of spending time with God, increasing in Faith, being activated deeper into ministry, and repeat. The only reason the enemy instills fear is because he sees not only the value in you, gifts in you, and your extreme potential for kingdom impact- he also knows that once the cycle of faith through spending time with God starts, him and his lies will lose ground in your heart forever. So are you ready? Are you ready to start the journey of faith by making clear choices to trust in God, not your circumstances, and begin the upward cycle of glorifying God and unlocking your potential?

Remember that impossible is God’s starting place. He made something out of nothing. He tells lightening where to strike. And he lives in you. You can do all things through Christ, because as you depend on him and lean into His spirit and word, He will gives you strength. (Philippians 4:13).

So next time fear looks you in the eyes, subdue it under the faith that lives within you. When you are reminded of things that cause doubt, hold fast to all of your reasons to be thankful and praise your way through the storm. That is the kind of faith God is pleased to move on behalf of. And He did not give you a spirit of fear. But of power, of love, and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)