Faith and fear is something that goes hand in hand. It’s either you are living in faith or you are living in fear.

Have you ever expected something to happen and you know it’ll happen because you have calculated how it could happen and probably there’s still time? Is that faith or logical reasoning? Ok, let me explain more, perhaps with an example.

Bob is a final year student in university. The economy right now is hard and his parents are finding it difficult to see him through university. Bob has exactly 2 months to pay his school fees and register if not he will not take his final exams and would have to do an extra year.

Bob’s parents are trying so hard to raise the money for their son’s school fees. However, Bob is not afraid, he has faith in God. He believes something will come up before 2 months is over.

A month gone and his parents have been able to come up with nothing. Bob is still not afraid. He trusts God. He knows that anything could happen in just 1 month. His dad could get a contract all of a sudden, someone could gift them the money or a helper might come and take care of the school fees.

It’s now left with just a week to go. Bob begins to panic but he still trusts that something might come up in a week. He’s hopeful, He has faith. 2 days to the deadline, Bob almost gives up. He is thinking, “can anything happen in 2 days?  Where will my school fees come from?” He starts thinking about the possibility of having an extra year, how his friends would have moved on and he will be in school just because he couldn’t pay his fees. He starts thinking about how to raise his school fees quickly; maybe he could go into some shady business to raise quick money, after all it’s for a good cause.

Would you say that Bob had faith?

What is faith?

Most times, that’s how we humans are (me included). We try to calculate how possible it is and when we think, “yeah there’s time, its possible”, we relax and say we have faith it will work out just fine. What if we’re pushed to the wall? Would you still say you have faith?

The bible tells us in Hebrews 11:1 that

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

In other words, faith means to believe that something will be even though it doesn’t look like it.

What is fear?

According to the Oxford dictionary, fear is

“the bad feeling that you have when you are in danger, when something bad might happen, or when a particular thing frightens you.”

When faced with life challenges and difficult situations, it’s only natural that we become afraid. However God wants us to have faith that we can pull through. I saw somewhere that faith and fear both require we believe in something. Faith is like the positive side, while fear is like the negative aspect. Why not choose to have faith? I know, easier said than done right?

Having faith in God requires you totally trust in Him and His word. You trust in His plans and how they are playing out for you. If Bob truly had faith and believed in God to provide his school fees, 2 days to registration end, he would still stand firm and be encouraged that God can work out anything in a matter of seconds. Now that’s faith. But we see that along the line, fear crept in and Bob started thinking of alternative ways. It’s normal, he was afraid.

Trusting God is not easy. What’s even easier is letting fear grip us because fear makes us analyze things that are and shows us ways in which what we are hoping for will never come to pass. It’s easier to give into that because we tend to be emotional and think that way. However God wants us to trust Him blindly. He wants us to put our trust in Him no matter how the situation at hand might seem.

How do I have faith?

Meditate on the word of God: The bible tells us that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing through the word of God (Romans 10:17). To keep having faith, we have to look into the word of God for encouragement. Read His words and declare His promises over your life.

Ever been down regarding something and then someone gives you words of encouragement and you feel lifted? Sometimes what the person says might be things we know or often say but at that moment, you needed to hear those words. This is same with the word of God. At times, we have read the scripture before but for some reasons, when you read it again, it uplifts you, it keeps you encouraged. I encourage you to take comfort in God’s word and may your faith in God be strengthened also.

Develop a relationship with God: It’s important to have a relationship with God. God has given us His Holy Spirit to help us. It’s His Spirit that comforts us and gives us direction on what to do and what not to do. A relationship with God strengthens our faith with God because we get to see who God is and we know what He is capable of.

Listen to uplifting songs: It’s natural to listen to depressing songs when we feel depressed. For some reasons, it’s easier and relatable. It’s no doubt that music has an effect on our mind, therefore we should feed our minds right. When feeling discouraged, we should listen to songs that would encourage us.

Related: 10 Gospel Songs I Love

How do I get scriptures to encourage me?

You may be out there saying, “but I don’t know God’s word concerning the situation I’m going through, how do I find it?” or you could also be like “no scripture seems to be coming to my head right now”. Don’t worry, there’s a way. Thank God for the internet. It’s really a place with vast information. You could simply google scriptures on depression, anxiety and whatever you want. You would see different scriptures on such topics that would encourage you.

Another thing to do is get a book (doesn’t have to be something fancy) and write down scriptures concerning life situations. It’s kind of like an encouragement book. I do this too. Sometimes I’m reading the Bible and I’m like, “this is really an encouraging scripture, let me write that down”. Often times, we don’t remember scriptures completely and having a book of scriptures can definitely be of help.

Whatever it is you are going through, you should know one thing; you are never alone. For starters, God sees it all. Secondly, someone out there has gone through it or is going through it too. Also remember that the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:13;

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it”

Don’t worry darling, God has got you!

Y’all, thanks for still sticking around. I’m resuming ViewPoint and that of May is going up on Monday. You don’t want to miss it.

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Much love guys