Hope for the Heart

[bluidkiti]

Hope for the Heart Part 01 - Faith vs Fear

by Gail Rodgers
Karen laughed out loud and it felt good. Even the conversations at work felt like a relief from the worries that sapped strength from her soul these days.

Worry is really just another word for fear. When we worry about our kids, our relationships, our finances or any number of things, we are actually living in fear. Fear can be paralyzing.
Fear displaces faith in our hearts. Faith is the assurance of God’s ability to give us help and strength and wisdom. When fear overrides we are not believing that our God is able.
Faith displaces fear. When we take each and every fear to God and give it into His hands, trusting Him to be our help and our strength, our faith displaces that fear. His peace comes in.
Oh, it doesn’t mean our problems all fade into the distance. It does mean however, that we will have the strength we need to face every challenge.
It does mean we can expect our almighty God to work within our circumstances in unexpected ways. It does mean we can be overcomers and more than just survivors.
The Bible tells us that God does not give us the spirit of fear. To be tempted to have fear in the face of the unknown and uncertain is a normal reaction. Yet God tells us we can live beyond that and let our faith extinguish our fear.

“In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.” (Ephesians 6:16)

Take whatever worry is plaguing your mind and heart today and identify the fear that it truly is. Then invite God to help you lift the shield of faith to extinguish that fear. He is able and He will do it!
prayer & reflection

Father God,
I thank you that You are more powerful than any of my circumstances. Today I ask You to increase my faith and to extinguish the fear that threatens to sap strength from my soul. Please help me to keep You in the center of my focus and not my fear.
I lift up my shield of faith in the name of Jesus, amen.