Faith vs Fear

Deuteronomy 31:8

“The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you;

He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Today, another challenging CRUCIBLE will determine our heart  if we will stand in faith or crumble in fear.  FAITH and FEAR cannot exist together. FEAR is a feeling caused by the perceived danger or threat and someone has said that FEAR is the oldest and strongest emotion we know. FAITH, on the other hand is described in Hebrews 11:1 as being "certain of what we do not see." It is an absolute belief that God is constantly working behind the scenes in every area of our lives, His plan and purpose for our lives even when there is no tangible evidence to support that fact.

Part of the story today is about David and Goliath. Goliath was over two feet taller than Shaquille Oneal, and put out a challenge against Israel, and he is causing much fear among the army of God. And you know the rest of the story how David, a man after God’s own heart killed Goliath with his sling.  We may know the story line since we are kids, but there is so much more to the story that can relate to us today. Remember what we said about crucible? A place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause CHANGE or DEVELOPMENT.

 

David and Goliath, maybe are the most obvious contrast in this story, but the deeper and the most crucible contrast is about Saul and David, who are both facing the same situation but ending up differently. Saul, faced Goliath with fear that takes hold of his emotions and dictates his actions,  but David faced Goliath with faith.  This lesson is no less important for us today because we see ourselves constantly  facing our giants everyday, as Phil Tuttle wrote “these Goliaths don’t fight fair, don’t have mercy,and they look invincible and they can show up in any areas of our lives” There is no limit to the way they manifest. So what’s the key of winning against our Goliath?

Face it with faith because “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” 

Faith is a SUBSTANCE, while fear simply is unbelief or weak belief.