Fear to Faith

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  ~ Psalm 56:3

Do you ever just get scared of the future because what if God doesn’t fix this problem or that problem?

I have recently found myself in a state of fear over the future of our country.

I am afraid for my grandchildren. I am afraid they won’t be able to work, eat well, and live freely. I am afraid that there will be wicked and powerful people in control and there will be no way to stop what is happening.

The one thing I can stop is my fearful thinking. I have come to a point where I understand, without a doubt, that God is in control. My worry will change nothing. However, if I demonstrate faith, that could change a lot.

Three (soon to be four) little sets of eyes and ears see my fear and hear my words every day. They respond to the way the adults around them are responding to the world. They know we are unhappy about the current  political situation. They know we are concerned about the economy and the murder of so many babies at abortion mills.

We talk about these things. They listen to every word.

It takes a conscious effort to point others to God’s sovereignty, mercy, and grace when things are looking difficult. In Psalm 56:4 David was running from the Philistines in Gath (where Goliath came from, 1 Samuel 17:4). He said, “In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.”

I think that his willingness to praise God was one of the reasons that he was able to trust Him as he faced such a terrible set of circumstances. Hard times did not make David resent God or get angry with Him. Hard times caused David to remember that God was where his help would come from! He praised God for it.

In our minds and hearts, when we are afraid, if we can remember to pray and praise God, by remembering the reasons He is worthy of praise, we will have peace. Over and over again God tells us to “Remember.” When we remember – out loud – what He has done for us in the past, we are better able to trust Him with our future and young ears will hear the praise of God, not the fear of man….regardless of our fearsome circumstances.

God is great. He is always good. He works things out for the good of His people. He is generous, gracious, merciful, forgiving, and the bearer of so many more attributes worthy of praise, that we do not have space to put them all on paper.

My prayer has been, “Father, forgive me for fretting when I should be praising.” Through that prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, I have gone from fear to faith. .

Will you pray about your circumstances, trust God’s goodness, speak of it openly to encourage others, and praise His great name? That is the path from fear to faith.