The “Fear” That fuels Faith

Last week we talked about how the enemy wants us to learn to be stuck in crippling fear. He speaks fear to us based on what we SEE.

I’ll never forget how this played out one time when renewing my passport. God works in the most unusual situations.

I had been in the darkness of unrelenting pain and chronic illness for several years already… waiting for God to move, praying desperately day after day for God to change my situation and to lead me to answers.

Early that morning, I had the BEST prayer and Bible study time by myself that I had in many years. I was so filled with faith and hope that God was going to change my situation, the walls were going to come down and my healing was around the corner.

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I enjoyed a wonderful morning and was experiencing more energy than usual. My husband texted me to find the passports because we needed to renew them before seeing his brother that summer.

I rummaged through some drawers, found the passports and looked at my picture.

My heart plummeted to the floor like a rock. There was “healthy” Dorothy. I remembered how she felt. I remembered how vivacious she was. I remembered how energetic and lively and unbroken she felt. Any belief I had that my healing was around the corner died instantly.

I cried.

I'm so thankful God never leaves me in these moments because I've had a lot of them.

I felt like God just let me cry for a bit. But then He started whispering love, hope, and faith again. God has been so faithful to me, and He's taught me so much in these moments, I actually wouldn't trade them for never having gotten ill.

Psalm 86:11

Teach me your way LORD that I may walk in your truth, give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name.

When I saw my old passport photo, I let the enemy's lies infiltrate my mind. My heart became divided. I ignored God's promises, His faithfulness, and instead started ruminating on thoughts God never wanted me to think.

Faith is hope in what we haven't seen yet. I could have thought a million different thoughts. I could have looked at that picture and thought “yep God's going to heal me, one day I'll have abundant energy again and far less pain.” Because I'm a Child of God that's actually a fact. Whether he heals me here or in heaven, I will be healed. But I let what I saw squelch my faith instead of letting God's promises fuel my faith.

Friends, when your faith falters, focus on truth.

The truth is I was romanticizing the life of the Dorothy that was in the picture. She had problems too. They were different problems, but she had problems. But that's the enemy's tactic. He gets us to focus on one little area so we don't see the big picture. If I could talk to that Dorothy now, the one who was crying over the passport photo, I would have so much compassion for her.

I’d tell her that I know this seems so hard. I know it feels like it's never going to end. But this is going to grow you in ways that you had no idea were possible. You are going to get so close to God, closer to your family and build up an unbreakable resilience. In all these things God is working on giving you an undivided heart.

Listen, if you have these thoughts coming against you, you HAVE to question them. Really question if they are true! Satan tells partial truths that end up poisoning your mind. You have to refute them with TRUTH. Ask God to teach you HIS ways, to give you an undivided heart that has a holy fear of Him and His tremendous power.

Joshua shows us how to do this. A being appears to him and he wasn’t quite sure if the being was friend or foe. When the being said he was the commander of the armies of the LORD, Joshua immediately fell to the ground and asked what the LORD wanted him to do.

Faith is like a muscle. Muscles only get stronger when they have to move a weight that is uncomfortable to lift. The moments when your faith seems strained or struggling is when it is BUILDING, not breaking. The enemy wants you to think the opposite so you give up. Remember – be aware of his schemes!

What’s going on for you? What could God be teaching you in the tough moments when faith seems to falter? How can you view the struggle you are experiencing as faith-strengthening instead of breaking?

In passionate purpose,

Dorothy