Fear or Faith

Whenever Jesus was dealing with anyone facing a scary situation, He was quick to say, "Do not fear" almost before the person or persons had a chance to think.  (Examples would be when people told Jairus that his daughter had died, Mark 5:36; or when Jesus came walking on the sea toward his disciples in the boat, John 6:20.)   This happened often enough that it is safe to say that Jesus considered it critical not to fear, many times likely to stave off the very thing that was feared from actually happening.

What may not be obvious to most of us at first is that Jesus is teaching us, when faced with fear, to choose not to fear.  Chances to fear abound, that's for sure.  Our child gets sick, our teenager is late getting home, we begin to get a sore throat, we have pain somewhere in our bodies, we get caught driving in a terrible storm, etc., etc.  Many days I pray for my family and friends, "Lord, if today any of us faces fear or faith, let us each choose faith."  It is critical that we choose faith.

One evening when my youngest son (who had always been trustworthy) was still in high school, he was somewhat late driving home, and I was struggling with horrible fearful thoughts.  (This was before everyone had a cell phone!)  The Lord spoke to me clearly and said, "You are putting him in far more danger by sitting up and fearing for his safety than he would be if you'd trust him into My care and go to bed.  Do not fear!"  In some sort of crazy way, I had been feeling that by worrying about him (fearing) , I was actually caring about him and thus protecting him.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The Lord said I was putting him in danger.  When I looked at it this way, I spoke out boldly, "I refuse to fear!" and made myself go to bed, knowing he was safe.  (He was.)

I have read many stories of people who were miraculously delivered from sickness, bills, accidents (both before, during, and after)--anything--by refusing to fear.  I...REFUSE...TO...FEAR!