The Opposite Of Faith Is Not Fear...
Updated: Oct 23, 2022
How many times have we heard the old adage, faith over fear? We often call ourselves overcoming fear when we submit to the plans of God for our lives and follow the plan that He created for us. Truthfully though, fear is not what extinguishes our faith...sight does. The Bible does not tell us to walk by faith and not be fear... the Bible tells us to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Far too often we place our disobedience on the fear tactics of the enemy. This can come natural to us because it removes us having to be accountable for guarding our hearts as we are called to do in Proverbs 4:23. By definition faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not SEEN (Hebrews 11:1). So if we find ourselves wavering in our faith we must simply ask ourselves where have we placed our sight?
I love the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water in Matthew 14:22-31. Peter was the only disciple that had the faith to step out of the boat after he saw Jesus walking on the water. Peter is the only other human recorded walking on water besides Jesus. Midway through he shifts his sight from Jesus to the circumstances of the wind and the waves around him and he begins to sink. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted (Matthew 14:30). He was never in any danger, just perceived danger, and when Jesus pulled Peter up he questioned his faith.
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” (Matthew 14:31).
Readjust Your Viewpoint (Colossians 3:1-3)
Replenish Your Faith (Romans 10:17)
Reestablish Your Trust In God (Hebrews 11:6)
To hear more about the opposite of faith check out "The Opposite of Faith" episode on the God, Goals, and Girl Talk Podcast.
- Dr. Sharla