Applying Faith to Fear

The Bible teaches that we can face life’s realities with courage and peace by entrusting ourselves and our loved ones to a God who loves us dearly.

Storms of life hit.

• In Mark chapter 5, the disciples found themselves in the middle of a fierce storm and got afraid. Jesus asked them why they were cringing in fear and why they didn’t believe what He already told them about getting to the other side of the lake.
• Storms of life hit every day to even the most faithful Christians. Every one of us must deal with disappointments, problems, and tragedies in life.
• Fear is a normal human emotion designed by God to alert us to the presence of danger so that we will take action against it. We are supposed to act on it by either fleeing from the danger or facing it head on. Fear is a gift of God.
• Where we get into trouble is when we let our imaginations run wild, give in to despair, and doubt God’s goodness. That pessimism comes from our view of trouble.

The first view is the pagan, non-biblical view of trouble. It’s the world’s view.

• It says that when things go well, the gods are happy with us. When things go wrong, the gods are angry with us. So, the goal of life is to stay on the good side of the gods so bad things won’t happen.
• Christians can get caught up into this kind of thinking when we try to interpret events, especially tragedies, as signs of God’s anger or punishment. Don’t do it.
• When the disciples asked if Jesus even cared if they drowned, they doubted His love and goodness.

The godly, biblical view of trouble

• Fact #1: We live in a fallen, evil, cursed world. We are in the last days of this broken old creation which will not get fixed until Jesus returns. In that until time, while we are waiting, you and I have the life of the new creation on the inside through the Holy Spirit. But at the same time, we are living in a body and world of the old, fallen creation.
• Fact #2: God has chosen from the beginning to give all humans the freedom to act. Some trouble comes from our own idiotic behavior. We make bad decisions then have to deal with the consequences. They may be hard, but God lets us experience consequences to show us why we need Him more and how ugly our sin really is.
• Fact #3: We have an enemy named Satan who is real and has influence on our natural world and the people in it. The devil entices people to rebel against God, and he can cause bad things to happen.
• Fact #4: Our God is great and powerful and will one day fix this broken world. That is a promise to us. It will happen in our future.
• Our choice is not whether we will have trouble, but what kind of preparation we’ll make and what response we’ll choose in facing life’s realities when they hit us.
• The preparation is filling your mind with truth from God’s Word. That’s believing that God is good all the time and that He loves you plus other truths clearly stated in Scripture.

 A process to apply faith to any fear

1. Confront it: What fears do you have right now? Think about them. The worst ones, the real ones, and the imaginary ones.
2. Ask about each one: What is my worst-case scenario? Consider just one of those fears. What is the worst that could happen? Think realistically.
3. Consider this: If the worst I can imagine happens, could I handle it through the presence and power of Jesus Christ? As a believer, you have the power of the One who created the universe living inside of you. Can He help you get through anything? Yes!
4. Remember these four truths and speak them to yourself:

• God loves you. John 16:27; Romans 5:5, Ephesians 5:1
• God knows what is going on in your life. Matthew 6:31-32; Psalm 139:1-10
• God can do something about it. Genesis 18:14; Luke 1:37; Mark 10:27
• You can trust His goodness in whatever He chooses to do. Psalm 119:68; Proverbs 3:5

5. Pray: Prayer is simply talking to God about anything and everything. Thank the Lord for His presence and His goodness. Ask Him for the courage and peace to ride out the storm.
6. Live life securely in Him: Take common sense precautions. Be wise in the world. Trust God to show you what to do and to give you strength when you are weak.

Let Jesus satisfy your heart with hope, healing, and love as you get to know Him and trust Him more each day.

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