Fear or Faith: One or the Other, Both or None

The words fear and faith have been pondered on by mankind for millenia to the extent that they have been used as acronyms. Not only that, they have been misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misapplied. There is irrational fear and healthy fear; there is blind faith and reasonable faith. Faith and reason are not mutually exclusive. In fact reason reinforces faith. Irrational fear is a weapon of Satan whereas healthy, godly fear is indispensable for the victorious believer.

• FEAR - False Evidence Appearing Real

This type of fear is irrational fear. Irrational fear is debilitating; it paralyses individuals rendering them ineffective and both psychological and nervous wrecks. Such fear inhibits functionality. Are you fearful? Come to Jesus and He will set you free from the bondage of fear and of sin. If you are not set free from ungodly and irrational fear, it will be impossible to develop a healthy fear of God. No wonder the Bible says,

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV)

Fear is not the portion of a child of God in the Name of Jesus. However, we must fear God.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.” ‭‭(Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12:13-14‬,  NKJV)

“Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.” (‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭5:22‬, ‭NKJV‬‬)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua‬ ‭1:9‬, NKJV‬‬)

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10:28‬, NKJV‬‬)

The Word of God states that to fear God is part of the whole duty of man. We are admonished time and time again in Scripture to fear God. Why? He is not our equal. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. His knowledge, wisdom and understanding are fathomless. He is perfect, holy, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He reigns above all. At His command, the heavens and the earth came into existence. He takes orders from no one and no one can stand against Him. Do you get the picture? He is not our mate and we are His friends to the extent He determines. We are not friends with Him because we hang out with Him. The truth of the matter is that we simply cannot hang out with Him, but we can worship Him in the beauty of holiness. He is the Creator of the universe - the complexity of the universe and even the human anatomy gives an indication of the infinite power and wisdom God has. Will you not fear Him? 

Moses wanted so much to see God’s glory and communicated his desire to God. Hear what God told Him 

“So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”  ‭‭(Exodus‬ ‭33:17-23‬, NKJV‬‬)

It is incredible. What did Moses see? How did He feel? What was going through His mind? Moses had an experience no other man will ever have and yet he did not enter the promised land. You simply cannot take God for granted. God will never change. His holy power and presence will incinerate any sin. No wonder Ananias and Sapphira fell down dead in the early church after lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11).

Interestingly, God does not want His people to be overwhelmed by irrational fear. He told Joshua not to be afraid. Jesus told His disciples not to fear those who can kill only the body but cannot kill the soul. God is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. 

The point here is that God is so much greater, wiser, powerful, knowledgeable than we are. We do not and will not compare to Him.  He created us and therefore we must have a holy reverence and fear of God. 

Having a healthy fear of God is appropriate and necessary. That in itself will eradicate the fear of man, circumstances or the devil. 

• FAITH - Forsaking All I Trust Him

The opposite of fear is faith. We should have reasonable faith, not blind faith. Having faith in God means trusting Him unreservedly and absolutely. The Bible says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

True and biblical faith is focused on God, not on what we want but on the Almighty God. When we focus on God, He will take care of everything that concerns us. In Mark 11:20-24, we read,

"Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:20-24)

Earlier on, Jesus had cursed a fig tree because it was essentially a waste of space, an unproductive and unfruitful tree, bearing no fruits whilst giving the appearance that it was useful. An unfruitful existence is out of order and contrary to God's Word and will. The disciples were astonished that the tree had dried up and Jesus admonished them to have faith in God. Basically, one who has faith in God trusts Him with everything. Having faith in God implies total surrender to His will. Having faith in God means disregarding evil reports and basing your view on the infallible Word of God. The Bible defines faith as

"Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:6, NLT) 

Faith ultimately points us to the reality of God. We are saved by grace through faith. We walk by faith and not by sight. We believe God by faith even when we do not understand what He is doing because He is good. We stand upon the promises of God in the good times and in the bad times,. We remain unshakable in our faith because God is unchangeable, immutable and unshakeable. He reigns in Heaven and on the earth. He is omnipotent and no one can tell Him what to do.

Having faith in God is one of the most sensible things to do. Where do you stand? We must fear God and have faith in Him. Do you? 

Remember if you do not fear God, then you fear something else. If you do not have faith in God, then you have faith in something else. May God give you the enablement to do the right thing. God bless you.