FAITH -fear = Peace

We all experience fear in some shape or form throughout our lives. Fear a parent has when they see their teenage child heading down wrong path. Fear a child has of attending school due to bully. Or even just the fear the unknown. No matter what fears people have present in their lives, if that fear rules your life, you will be missing out on the best of what God has to offer you. Through my daily walk with God, I’ve realized that I cannot have both fear and faith at the same time. It’s either, or, because one cancels out the other.
Various biblical characters find themselves in undeniably dangerous situations, but they are preserved and protected by God due to their faith. Like Daniel, who was thrown into the lion’s den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were protected while in the fiery furnace; or Noah, who built an ark before one single raindrop hit the ground.
One of my favorite stories about faith is David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). When David went up against this giant, by all physical standards, he was unprepared. Instead of wearing the standard issued armor, he wore his regular shepherd boy clothes. Also, instead of a sword, 5 stones and a sling was his weapon of choice. But despite what he “lacked” he had the most protective thing of all, his faith. Faith, that he maintained even when those who should have been on his side tried to speak doubt and fear into his faith. Like when his own brother (1 Samuel 17:28) questioned David’s reason for even being there and tried to insult him. Or when King Saul (1 Samuel 17:33) basically called him too green to fight the giant. In my opinion, David’s unyielding faith is what really won the battle. If you look closely at how it played out, you can clearly see how faith completely ruled over the scare tactics the giant was trying to use. In 1 Samuel 17:49-51, it says that the stone David slung knocked the giant to the ground, David was then able to stand OVER the giant. Next, he took the giant’s OWN sword and cut off his head. Talk about insult to injury. I sometimes wonder if David could have just said “die Goliath” and the giant would have fallen dead, because I believe that David’s faith was just that great.
So how do these stories from long ago apply to your current fears in this day in age, you ask? Well, the equation will never change FAITH – fear = Peace. Better yet, not only peace but victory. Your faith in God is the only thing that can give you victory over any situation that may be making you fearful. Whether it is trusting that God will provide for you and your family after being fired from a job, or turning away from the career path because God said otherwise. It could even be having faith that God has covered your house giving you peace and the ability to sleep easy throughout the night. Matthew 6:25-34, tells us to not worry because everything we need will be provided for us. So whatever the danger is in your life, either real or imagined, causing you to be fearful, overtake it with FAITH so that you can live in Peace instead of fear..