Fear or Faith?
“The Lord tests the heart.”
Proverbs 17:3 (NIV)
Last week I was privileged to speak to our VHHS Moms’ Huddle group. This month we continued our “what does the Bible say about…?” series by looking at what the Bible says regarding fear.
Initially we might assume that all fear is bad. But God gives each of us a divinely designed “fight or flight” physical response system that kicks in when we’re suddenly faced with danger or survival. That same adrenaline rush provides soldiers, athletes, and first responders the necessary ability to quickly respond when needed.
Not surprisingly the Bible has a lot to say about fear because it’s usually the first thing we do when faced with a crisis. But most importantly, God’s Word declares that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Author Beth Moore says, “If a person fears God, she has no reason to fear anything else.”
Over the last twenty years God has used Robert J. Morgan’s The Red Sea Rules (RSR) to help me navigate difficult situations. This little book can easily be read in about two hours, but it is packed with godly wisdom. Morgan outlines ten “rules” or principles found in Exodus 14-15 as “ten ways of handling dilemmas and discouragements- a divine protocol for handling life …and a powerful and effective strategy for coping with the messes and stresses of life.”
Each strategy is called a "rule" and progressively builds on the rules that precede it. Each principle is important, but through the years I’ve changed Morgan’s wording slightly for my personal crises and collapsed them to three essentials:
God knows where I am, and he means for me to be here.
Pray!
Discipline your emotions and do your next thing.
Over the last 4.5 years, I’ve found myself repeatedly returning to RSR#1 as we’ve faced James Bruce’s sudden death; my breast cancer diagnosis; and Bruce’s unexpected open-heart surgery.
RSR#1 reminds me that God knows where I am even if I don’t! God is sovereign; he reigns and rules; and nothing takes him by surprise. Behind each RSR is an unshakeable faith in God’s sovereignty, omniscience, goodness, faithfulness, and love. Each life event listed above was life changing for us and took us by surprise. But not one of them took God by surprise. It was all by his design.
Before closing our Huddle discussion, one mom asked for some practical “how to’s” on disciplining our emotions. Author Elisabeth Elliot writes, “The discipline of emotions is the training of responses.” So how do we train our responses?
Scripture memory is a great personal resource. In December 2021, I memorized Psalm 112:7 as my 2022 prayer verse:
“He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast trusting in the LORD.”
Those words anchored me in the first moments after James Bruce’s death and provided comfort and strength during my breast cancer treatment and Bruce’s cardiac rehabilitation.
Another practical tip is to be fully present in the present moment. Fear often leads to anxiety and worry creating a toxic mixture that produces more stress and fear. Doing what needs to be done in this moment keeps both my hands and heart occupied as I stay busy and pray without ceasing. No matter the task-picking up a grandchild or teaching a Bible study- being fully present in those moments gives me less time to worry, fret, and fear. Remembering my CALM acronym-Christ Always Loves Me- helps me stay calm in the chaos of life.
Last week following our Huddle discussion, early predictions indicated that Hurricane Isaisis’ landfall would be between Gulf Shores and Gulfport, Mississippi. Our family beach house was initially in its direct path. Playing our biggest football rival last Friday night was enough to fret and worry about without fearing a destructive hurricane. Could I discipline my own emotions, or would I be consumed with fear and worry about something over which I had absolutely NO control? The choice was mine.
I would love to say that I passed my test with flying colors, but the truth is I was constantly praying, “Lord, help me not to fear; help me to trust.” I prayed Psalm 112:7 countless times; limited news and weather reports; and stayed busy with weekend football and birthday preparations. Finally, I whispered a grateful prayer Friday night when both the storm and the game were over.
Toxic fear is always a choice and a matter of our hearts. We can choose faith or we can choose fear, but we can’t choose them both at the same time.
Fear or faith? Which will we choose?