I heard a pastor say, “Anytime Jesus said, ‘Do not be afraid,’ his audience was in a pretty scary situation.” It’s true. Whenever I’ve heard the Spirit whisper to my soul, “Do not be afraid,” it’s because I am facing something that creates anxiety in my life.
The command to not be afraid is repeated 70 times in the NIV. From what I understand, it’s the most repeated command in the Bible. Perhaps because fear is the most common emotion we struggle with.
The enemy wants to keep you focused on fear because it undermines the development of faith. When you are not exercising your faith, you’re not strengthening it. Faith is best exercised in the face of challenge, not ease.
Challenges come in two forms: Circumstances beyond my control. Or a choice to believe God for something beyond your ability.
You will not come to understand God at a deeper level if you are never in a situation where you need God. One of the key things God said to me in 2020 was, “Mac being in a place of dependence on Me is a gift from Me.”
Our thought life is the gym, where we strengthen faith or fear. Our minds are always exercising one or the other.
When you exercise anxiety (Yes, that is something we do), you’re weakening faith and strengthening fear.
I exercise fear when I imagine the worst-case scenario, allow negative thoughts to run rampant, or give up on a God-inspired dream.
Worry is the opposite of prayer. Yet there are times I go before God and spend my time worrying in His presence. That’s not faith. Being in the presence of God should change your perspective. If I express my anxiety in my time with God and leave His company unchanged, I have failed to understand God’s character. In other words, you can walk into your prayer closet carrying fear but should not leave with it.
Prayer is where I place my fear in submission to the character and power of God.
Once I place my concerns at the feet of Jesus, if I continue to carry them, it implies I believe my way is better than His way. That my power is greater than His power. That my wisdom goes beyond His wisdom. That’s a mistake that only perpetuates my fear.
The strengthening of fear diminishes my mind’s ability to comprehend the nature of God. The more I develop my fear, the less I know the power of God.
So what are you exercising: Your fear or your faith?
