Isaiah 41:10 NIV So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
I had a very rough start to my career. God led me down the path to teach, but as I stumbled through my first years of teaching, it became more and more overwhelming. In hindsight, I can see that I kept half-heartedly agreeing to His plans for my life. Since I did not want to be a teacher to begin with, I kept thinking, ‘Ok, but only as long as I can be a Science teacher’ or ‘As long as you don’t make me teach middle school’. But guess where He led me? He kept calling me further and further outside of my comfort zone. I was so afraid of it being too much or that I would not be good enough for the job. My trust in God’s plan for my life was being overshadowed by my desire to hold tightly to my plans for my life.
Everyone is afraid of something. Maybe, like me, you are afraid to give God control over your career plans or maybe you are afraid of not being good enough or that life is not what you were expecting it to be. Give it all to God and accept His peace over your life. Trust Him to provide you direction, wisdom and purpose for all you do. He will call you out of your comfort zone, requiring you to leap out in faith, reminding us that our reliance should be on Him. But He will always be there to love you, guide you and provide everything you need.
Have you ever heard that there are 365 verses in the Bible that say “do not fear” or “don’t be afraid”?—one for each day of the year. True or not (I haven’t counted), it is worth reminding ourselves, each day, to Trust in the Lord. That’s what “Faith over Fear”means. It’s a common saying that we’ve probably all heard. But it’s worth stopping and remembering the heart of it’s truth. If you read some of the many scriptures about fear, you will see that God tells us to “not be anxious” but come to Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7). He says that, if we trust in Him, He will give us peace (John 14:27). That is what it means to have “Faith over Fear”. Above all, trust God’s plan and don’t let Satan give you a spirit of fear.
CHALLENGE: What is one area of your life that you are too afraid to let go to God? What steps can you take today to work towards relinquishing that fear to God?