Never Lose Faith

Do you ever wonder what your life would look like if fear didn’t exist? For example, what if you had the confidence to pursue every passion God gave you? 

Well, God gives us a special gift called faith, so we can do amazing things for Him. Today, I want to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and exercise that gift full time. 

Faith vs. Fear

You see, faith gives us so much potential. It motivates us to move forward in the plans God has for us. However, fear is a feeling Satan uses to keep our focus inward. It makes us feel anxious, causes us to dread the future, and it can keep us from saying and doing things that God places in our hearts to do.

That’s why it’s so important to “interrupt” fear at its onset. We are regularly confronted with a choice: Either allow Satan to stop us in our tracks...or go forward in faith, believing God is in control.

Here’s the good news: When we’re struggling with fear, we can turn to God’s Word for an inspiring, encouraging reality check. For instance, Romans 8:31 says, If God is for us, who can be against us?

Or how about Psalm 27:1? It says, The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold[a] of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

These scriptures are basically saying that if we believe God’s Word, then we have already won!

In Mark 11:22, Jesus instructs us to have faith in God constantly. Think about this—God doesn’t want you to be fearful at any time. He wants you to be bold, confident, courageous and full of faith every day of your life...not just until you have a problem or until someone mistreats you. There’s no “until” with God! 

Faith While You Wait

Throughout the course of a lifetime, we spend a lot of time waiting—and that’s often the case with prayer. We can spend years praying for something to happen and, during that time, Satan will do everything he can to discourage us. He will try to convince us that God doesn’t love us, that His promises are for more “worthy” people, or that we didn’t really hear from God in the first place. 

But, again, if we make a firm decision to trust God continually, we can keep moving forward in His plans for us.  

The truth is, even if you don’t see the fulfillment of every dream or desire of your heart here on earth, God will be pleased as you continue to stay in faith and believe in His perfect plan. And in the meantime, your faith will fill you with hope, joy and peace!

Look at Romans 15:13 with me. The Lord has used this scripture to teach me so much. It says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Now, if you knew me years ago, you would know that I wasn’t always bubbling up with hope. In fact, I was in agony whenever God made me wait for anything, so I would always try to make things happen on my own. And it eventually wore me out! 

I remember being on the floor sobbing, saying, “God, I’ve tried everything and nothing’s working. I just give up!” At that moment, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said: Really, Joyce? You mean, you’re going to let Me take it from here?

You see, when we’re ready to let go, God is right there to fight our battles. We just need to learn to trust Him…and that comes through experience, as we take each new step of faith.

Today, instead of trying to pray my problems away, I’ve learned to pray for things like strength and courage...and for the power to endure whatever comes with a good temper. With God’s help, I can choose faith every time I’m confronted with feelings of fear or intimidation. 

Philippians 1:28 says, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

Full of Faith

Satan wants to frighten and intimidate us. He constantly lies to God’s children, attempting to deceive us and give in to fear. However, God wants us to be full of faith. I love what He says in this scripture: “Do not for a moment be frightened or intimidated.” In other words, “Don’t let the enemy scare you and cause you to lose faith—I’ve got everything under control!”

With God’s help, we can remain constant in the face of fear, putting one foot in front of the other…standing in faith full time.

Imagine again what it would be like to pursue your God-given passions in life. Don’t let fear stop you! Keep seeking God. Stir yourself up with scriptures on faith. And boldly say, “God is bigger. He’s is working on my behalf, and I trust Him constantly.”