I won’t need the “Swear Jar” for the two “F” words that dominate my relationship with God.
The two “F” words that dominate my relationship with God: Faith and Fear.
Like two poles of a magnet they are opposites. And like two poles of a magnet, you never find one without the other.
My day started with fear. It was the kind of fear that made me want to ask God to take it away. Right now. Immediately. It was a very stormy day. Dark clouds. Flashes of lightning. Wind gusts over 50 miles per hour.
The rain fell so heavily that I could barely see past the end of the hood of my car. I lived in a small city and was on my way to the airport.
“What a great day for a flight”, I thought.
At that point in my life I didn’t fly very often. The idea of getting on a plane in the middle of a major thunderstorm was more than a little scary.
And then there was the reason I was getting on the plane. I was going to a job interview.. I was happy in my current job. I was happy living where I lived.
Looking for a way to justify my fear, I decided to blame it on God. “Maybe God doesn’t want me to go”, I thought. “This storm is his way of telling me to stay home!”
Thoroughly convinced, I turned the car around and went home. I placed a long distance phone call and cancelled the job interview. On that day, fear won.
Because God is loving and faithful and persistent in pursuing us, there were other days when I faced the choice between faith and fear. On many of those days faith won.
Why do you never find faith without fear? Fear implies doubt about the outcome. If you have no doubt why do you need faith?
I keep thanking God for my great faith, and asking him to increase my small faith.
I pray that prayer knowing that God may answer it by bringing another storm into my life.
I pray that prayer knowing that He is more than enough to banish my fear, and that each time fear is starved, faith grows.
Mark Batterson says it well in his book, “All In”
“You have to choose a dictator. You can let fear dictate your decisions, or you can let faith dictate your decisions.”
What do you think? Is faith enough to banish fear? Can you have real faith without fear? Post your thoughts below…
