My brother and I went fishing the other night and the memory has stayed with me. There’s something about the water that soothes my soul. It takes patience. It takes quiet. It takes setting aside some time. But it’s worth it because, for a moment, I can just be still. And catching a fish is kind of fun too.
This particular fishing expedition was a little different however in the fact that the sun was setting as we arrived and by the time we really got into the thick of it—it was dark. I realized as I scanned the murky water for the shape of the bobble that my fishing success had always come on the premise of being able to see what I was doing. I suddenly found myself having to rely on what I could feel rather than what I could see. I held the rod in my hands waiting for the slightest nibble or pull. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to reel a fish in if I couldn’t see what was going on in front of me.
As I waited on the edge of the bank, I reflected on the situation and the words echoed inside my mind. Not being able to see what is in front of me. That was a feeling that I had become quite familiar with lately. I thought about the previous fifteen weeks and about the things we have been experiencing in this new normal. I thought about the things that have changed due to COVID. And I thought about the things that haven’t. I’ve learned a lot about myself and life and about trusting God on a deeper level in this season, yet sometimes I still feel exactly like I did as I stood on the bank in the darkness waiting for something to happen.
Waiting for an answer.
Wondering when it will come.
Willing the Lord to act.
And it’s not just coronavirus that ignited these questions. I’ve been asking them for a while. I’ve been waiting for a while. Maybe you have too.
As the crickets chirped around me and I gazed at the night stars above, I was reminded of the phrase that the Holy Spirit has been pressing upon my heart. And that’s the action of choosing faith over fear.
I looked up the word “faith” and the definition said, “Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” I keep coming back to the word complete. I think perhaps there are a lot of moments that we say we are trusting God for something when we really mean, “I’m giving Him a shot first, but if it doesn’t work out the way I want, then I will take it into my own hands.” I know I’m guilty of this. I also know God doesn’t want just a chance. He wants an opportunity. He wants room to do something beyond what we can imagine, but that means putting up a vacant sign and moving out. That means surrendering every bit of it and being willing to accept whatever comes. That means choosing faith when you are staring at fear. That means still trusting when the diagnosis isn’t good. That means continuing to hope when you are discouraged. That means doing things you don’t necessarily feel like doing in that moment.
I’m not saying this is easy. I’m still working on it every single day. But I think it’s necessary if we want to do the things God is calling us to do.
I read this line in one of my Bible studies this week. “We have to keep believing that God can, even when He isn’t at the moment” (Wendy Pope, Hidden Potential). I think that’s the measure of success for putting faith over fear. It’s in our actions. It’s in what we keep doing. Things won’t change if we only try once, but when we start to repeat a choice or a thought, it becomes a mindset. It becomes a lifestyle. So that means we keep believing. Even when the future is uncertain. Even when we can’t see what we are doing. The Bible says it this way in Acts 27:25, “So keep up your courage, for I have faith that it will happen just as He told me.” I believe the author uses the phrase, “keep up your courage” to indicate that this will be something you have to continue to do. His message is this, “On those hard days when it seems like it is NOT going to happen and you can’t see beyond the moment you are in, keep at it. It’s coming. It’s going to happen because God is faithful.”
It’s because of God’s promises that we can have confidence in tomorrow. We can have hope when all seems bleak. We can look at the world around us and have peace. No matter the situation, we can choose to have faith over fear. So whether it’s fear, anxiety, the virus, uncertainty of what tomorrow will look like, an unstable economy, unmet desires, brokenness, loneliness, unrest in society, or anything else that might be causing you to worry—speak faith over it. And keep at it because the Name of Jesus is above all things. He is the source of faith we draw from when the fear comes our way. He is God with us.
-Only Hope
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