Tuesday, September 10, 2024
For God did not give us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
Faith Over Fear
Sometimes God asks us to do something that is out of our comfort zone or feeling of competence. He tests our faith as to whether we will believe enough to follow. It may simply be a Scripture passage that calls for us to obey Him, to change our lifestyle, or to reorient our thoughts toward God. It may be to speak out when we are not sure we know what to say. (Ask Moses about this one.) It may be to pick up from where we are and move, change jobs, enter full-time Christian service, go back to school, or any number of things in our lives. It seems there is one common denominator to God’s requests…He wants us to change something. But we may balk at His request. In the history of God’s people, you will find many people who, when God spoke, had an immediate crisis of belief.
Would God ever ask you to do something that you were not able to do? All the time! How significant is it when God speaks to you? What you do next will reveal what you believe about God. The greatest crisis is not that we don’t know the will of God; it is when we know the will of God but choose not to obey.
Many different things can cause us to ignore God’s direction in our lives:
· Family
· Career
· Not feeling equipped
· FEAR
Fear may be one of the greatest factors to us not following God’s direction, or living the abundant life he plans for us. Fear whispers that we are not worthy to be used, not capable, not good enough. We also like to be in control and know what is going to happen. We struggle when we have to hand over that control to God, but we can be assured that whatever it is that God wants for our lives, He has already made the way. What we truly believe changes and directs our lives. If I believe that God is the ultimate authority and source of blessing in my life, I will follow His direction, willingly,
You will never experience God without obedience, and partial obedience is simply disobedience. Serving looks different for everyone. It is really not about how much you do. It is about being willing to go and do, to listen and stay, or anything, in any way.
