What exactly is faith? And what does it mean to live a life of faith? Is it necessary to maintain faith in the face of adversity?
These are vital concerns because faith is how we receive and feel God’s blessings.
When you don’t have faith in your life, fear takes over. Both are incompatible. Fear flees in the presence of Faith.
Fear is a tool that allows the devil to strike us and deprive us of God’s blessings. Faith is a tool that allows us to receive from God.
This acronym’s meaning is one of my favorites:
F- False
E- Evidence
A- Appear
R- Real.
Fear is fictitious evidence that the devil portrays as genuine. Faith, on the other hand, is evidence of things not seen. In order to live a life free of anxiety, fear, and depression. It is critical that you live your life in accordance with your faith.
Which would you prefer: false evidence that appears to be true or evidence of things not seen but that assures you of things to come? Faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely assured) and the evidence of things not seen, according to Hebrews 11:1.
Stand Firm On His Promises
Fear has its place, without it, our lives would be in constant jeopardy. The terror of a busy street or an unprotected medicine container must be instilled in a young child. A soldier or police officer understands that even a split second of inattention might be fatal. “A prudent man sees danger and flees, but the simple continue on and suffer as a result,” the Bible states (Proverbs 22:3). However, we should be concerned about more than simply physical risk of fear, we should also be concerned about moral and spiritual dangers. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Fear has its place, but when it gets excessive, it turns into sin. Why? Fear drives us to mistrust God’s promises and to doubt His love. Fear may immobilize us, preventing us from trusting God and taking risks. A scared Christian is a devil’s favorite! The ancient Israelites were promised by God that He would be with them and assist them in conquering the Promised Land. They were terrified, and they refused to obey. As a result, they were forced to travel for forty years in the Sinai wilderness (Numbers 14). They were paralyzed by fear, and an entire generation missed out on God’s blessing. This is something that can happen to us.
The majority of individuals seek for one thing beyond all else, inner serenity. They will never be happy or secure without it. But I’m also persuaded that this is precisely what the majority of people are missing and the fundamental reason for this is anxiety and fear.
Getting Over Our Fears
Can we overcome our fears and anxieties? Or do we have to spend our lives worrying? Let me counter with a question, what is the polar opposite of fear? There is only one answer for a Christian; the polar opposite of fear is trust. Trust in God and His constant love.
We can face life’s hazards and uncertainties with confidence once we recognize God is in control and he holds us in His loving hands. After all, if we can trust God with our eternal salvation, why can’t we trust Him with our daily lives? Can we put our trust in him with our fears and anxieties? Certainly No, to put our trust in him means doing away with fear and anxiety. (Psalm 118:6).
However, let’s be honest, it’s difficult to trust God when danger looms or everything appears to be collapsing around us. Fear comes to us much more easily than trust. But remember: Fear can drive trust away, and trust also can drive fear away. Trust isn’t about pretending our issues don’t exist or being overly optimistic.
Trust directs our attention away from our concerns and toward the hope we have in Christ. True faith is based on trust, both in Christ’s work for us and in God’s promises of compassion and mercy.
What should you do if you’re experiencing worry or fear?
Turn them over to Christ: Don’t dismiss them and don’t cling to them either. Confess your sins to Christ, and then beg Him to take them away from you. “Cast your anxieties on the LORD, and he will sustain you, he will never let the upright fall,” the psalmist wrote (Psalm 55:22). “Cast all your concern on him because he cares about you,” Peter said (1 Peter 5:7).
Stand firm on God’s promises: Stand firm and keep your eyes fixed on God’s promises. God has given us “many vast and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4) in the Bible, and each one reminds us that we can put our trust in Him. God’s promises are trustworthy because He cannot lie! Both Testaments include God’s life principles, and God’s promises in the Old Testament are just as pertinent and relevant to us today as those in the New Testament. When fear is confronted with God’s promises, it vanishes.
What exactly are those assurances? One is that no matter how difficult or perplexing life becomes, God is with you. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you,” he adds (Hebrews 13:5). “Surely, I am with you always, until the end of the age,” Jesus proclaimed (Matthew 28:20). If you know Christ, you will never be alone. The classic verses from Psalm 23 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid; for thou are with me, and thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Instill the promises of God’s Word in your mind and heart. God also promises us hope, hope that one day all of life’s evils and inequities will be eradicated. “You will have problems in this life,” Jesus warned. “But don’t lose heart!” He added quickly. “I have triumphed over the world” (John 16:33). Everything that causes you to feel afraid or nervous is only transitory, since they will be destroyed when Christ returns.
Never Stop Praying: Finally, pray consistently and confidently. I’m always shocked at how easy it is to get worried about something and then forget to pray about it. Anxiety and fear are like newborn tigers in that the more you feed them, the more powerful they get.
However, God has provided another option: prayer. “Do not be worried about anything,” the Bible says, “but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Then there’s God’s promise: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).
What is the best way to pray? First and foremost, pray for strength in the face of whatever you are afraid of, for God is the one who helps us cling on in the midst of life’s storms. Pray for wisdom in dealing with whatever it is that is bothering you, some practical steps may help to modify the situation. Pray, too, that God would intervene to change your situation according to His will. He doesn’t always do what we desire, but He is trustworthy and understands what is best for us. God is sovereign, and nothing is out of His reach. God is already there; therefore don’t be afraid of the future.
Emotions make our lives richer, but they can also overwhelm us or lead us astray. But, with God’s aid, we can learn to keep them in check.
Declare The Word Of Faith
God’s word is powerful, and his word is Yea and Amen. God’s word can be relied on at all times. This section of declaring the word of faith will be segmented into three part, which are: Growing your faith in God, Storing the word and Believing the word.
It is critical to grow your faith in God, store the word, and believe the word if you will properly and effectively declare God’s word to conquer your fear, worry, anxiety, and any emotional trauma.
Growing your faith in God
What has God said concerning you? Has God promise you a thing? Do you think God is delaying? Are your circumstances making you feel God has forgotten you? Are his promises taking longer time than expected? Have you heard what God has to say about you? If you’re have these thoughts, it is necessary that you grow your faith in him.
It is not enough to know his promises; you must also develop your faith in order to inherit them. You must strengthen your faith in God, in order to stand firm on his promises, even if they are delayed. “……but followers of them who inherit the promises through faith and patience,” writes Apostle Paul in Hebrews 6:12.
In Hebrews 11:1–3, three terms characterize sincere confidence in God: substance, evidence, and witness. The word “substance” literally means “to support, to stand under.”
A Christian’s faith is like a house’s foundation. Faith is the basis on which God’s promises to us are built. In other words, we can’t rely on his promises if we don’t have trust. (Hebrews 11:6) If you’re looking for a unique way to express this, we can put it this way. “it is impossible to please him (God) without faith……”
Faith brings trust that helps you follow through on his promises. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for,” you might remark. Faith is God’s means of giving a believer confidence and assurance that what is promised will be experienced.
“Conviction” is what the word “evidence” signifies. This is God’s inner conviction that He will fulfill what He has promised.
The presence of God-given trust in one’s heart is enough to convince one that He will honor His promises.
The term “witness” (obtained a favorable report) is used in Hebrews 12:1 to describe this group of men and women as “such a vast cloud of witnesses.” Because God witnessed to them, they are witnesses to us. God testified to each person’s faith in the examples given. This was a sign of God’s blessing on their lives and ministries.
We become witnesses of God’s faithfulness when our faith in him grows to the point where we receive his promise.
Here are some suggestions for growing your faith and confidence in God:
1. Desire God’s word: We were saved and adopted into the fold of Christ as babies, but God does not want us to stay that way. He had told us that we needed to mature.
No matter how adorable a baby is, parents want their children to grow up. Our heavenly father likewise wants his adopted children to grow in faith so that they can inherit the promises he has made to us.
“Like newborn babies, you should want (thirst for, earnestly desire) the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, so by it you may be nursed and grow toward [finished] redemption,” Peter rightly declared in 1 Peter 2:2.
Your hunger for God’s word will drive you to study it, and as you learn, you will grow.
2. Seek God with zeal: You must earnestly seek God’s word as your desire, which functions as a hunger, draws you there. Not only should you read the Bible, but you should also endeavor to learn more about God. He rewards those who not only seek him, but who seek him actively and diligently, according to the Bible.
You will not only find God if you seek him diligently, but he will also reward you. Growth, fulfillment, blessings, emotional trauma relief, and everything else you ask for are all part of your reward.
Storing the word
Store the Word As your faith grows, it’s important that you store the word within you so that you can declare it confidently and successfully in the face of fear, anxiety, worry, despair, and any other scenario.
(Colossians 3:16) “Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you…….” Allow God’s word to fill your heart and mind so that when you’re confronted with a struggle, you may draw on the wealth of the word you’ve stored up in you as a counter to the devil’s falsehoods.
This can be seen in the life of Jesus Christ, who, when the devil came to tempt him in the wilderness, confronted the devil’s lies with the stored word inside him and vanquished him.
Believing the word
After we have stored God’s word in our hearts, we must trust the word in order to successfully declare God’s word over our fears and worries. It is neither sufficient to speak the word from your head, nor is it sufficient to simply store the word. It’s crucial to believe the word to be true.
When we believe the word to be true, and we trust it to be the solution, we will declare the word and it will work effectively.
EXERCISE 7
Make twenty personal statements that begin with the phrase “I can go on despite…”
Dr. Amanda Smith 