How Fear Gives Way to Faith
Luke 18:1-8
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justiceagainst my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
This Sunday’s service can be viewed on our Facebook page @Sunday, April 23, 2023
How Fear Gives Way to Faith
Do you realize that “faith” can be one of the top three most powerful attributes in your life?
In Paul’s great treatise in 1 Corinthians 13 about the character traits of compassion, he said at the end of the chapter, “These three things will last forever: faith, hope, and love.” We know the greatest of these is love, but how much influence does faith have in your life to dispel so many of the fears that bombard you day after day? I’m specifically talking about the kind of faith that God gives us. When the following statement is at the frontlines of my thinking and actions, I find true strength and peace when I keep remembering what God has given me…
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (1 Timothy 1:7)
Just a few months ago I found my fears overriding my trust in God. No matter how hard I tried to remind myself of the reality of the statement above, I was not able to move beyond the fear of another loss and change in my life. It was in those moments that God brought another scripture passage to mind. Luke chapter 18 starts this way…
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
The parable he told, reminded me how my trust in God would eventually overcome any fears I had If I continued in His presence and stayed close to Him. So that’s what I did. And ever so slowly, my faith increased and my anxious mind found peace.
This Sunday we will worship and walk together into Jesus promises as His beloved children!
Grateful to be on this journey with you,
Pastor John