Fear is such a crippling emotion that prevents you from taking the next step and leaves you at one spot as you contemplate whether to give up or forge ahead. In my spiritual journey, I have learned to choose faith over fear.
I recall in November 2019 fear hit me like a trailer because I have never felt such type of fear in my life. It looked like I wasn’t going to defend myself because my supervisor was giving me a really tough time.
This was when the word ‘trust in God’ really stuck in my mind. I am not talking about trusting God 70% and trusting yourself 30%; I am talking about trusting God 100%. It is not about I have done my part and I leave the rest to God; I mean you have to leave everything to God.
Firstly, it was the week of the defence that I saw myself losing hope. I got to understand the methodology I was using better as of Tuesday; the day defence commenced.
Secondly, on Tuesday I had not gotten my corrections from my supervisor. On that fateful day, I broke down in front of my very close friend because my project did not have direction and my supervisor told me that I should not come on my defence day with make-up until I have settled things. You can imagine the amount of pressure on me.
I had a lot to do within that short period of time. I was to leave school to know the population size of my other scope of the study. The funny part of this whole thing is that I had no idea of what my other scope was.
My project topic was super sensitive so to even getting information about the other scope was extremely difficult due to privacy concerns. Was I overwhelmed? Yes. Did I feel like giving up? Yes. Was I devastated? Yes. Was I broken? Yes. A lot of emotions sprung up in me.
I didn’t know how I would leave school at that short notice. Did you know what I did? I put my Google to use at that moment. I searched for contacts that I could call to get my information. I fervently prayed on the night of that Tuesday as well.
As God would have it I got my answer on Wednesday morning and that day came and passed I had not still gotten my corrections but my methodology was settled. I had fears, I had doubts but I just gave everything over to God because he is always in control.
Thursday morning came, the exact day of my defence and guess what? I did my corrections and defended myself! The defence was successful. It went better than I thought. I was indeed favoured because some people, especially the people under my supervisor were not able to defend on their day. God is so intentional. He knew his daughter won’t be ready to defend Tuesday and Wednesday and so he gave me Thursday.
This experience taught me that in trusting God over the affairs of my life, my idea of how things are meant to go is not accommodated. In this season, I had to understand that trusting God would be leaving my own taught process and focusing His plan.
He alone knows the outcome of every situation and would lead me at every step. Trusting God would mean not focusing on what is logical and knowing that God makes sense out of something that makes completely no sense.
By the end of this blog post, you are going to know 5 ways to choose faith over fear.
What is Faith?
Faith according to Hebrews 11:1, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
What is Fear?
Fear, according to my own definition, is the feeling of uncertainty and doubt about the outcome of a particular situation.
How to Choose Faith Over Fear
We have not been given the spirit of fear but that of love, power and a sound mind 2 Timothy 1:7. Fear will always be there but the question is ‘how do you handle it when it comes?’ As a believer, you should not allow our fears to overshadow our faith because when we do that our trust in God is questionable.
You choose faith over fear through daily fervent prayers, constant fellowship, studying God’s word, reciting scriptures etc. Choosing faith over fear is a deliberate effort and it takes a man who trusts God completely over the affairs of his life to conquer fear.
The distinction between Faith and Fear
Faith according to Hebrews 11:1 is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen while fear, according to my own definition, is the feeling of uncertainty and doubt about the outcome of a particular situation.
Faith and fear cannot be on the same level because the two cannot go hand in hand. You cannot say you have faith and still choose to be fearful and this is why your faith must overshadow your fear. Let your faith stare at fear in the face and say ‘I have power over you’ The life you live should be one conditioned by faith and not fear.
5 Ways to Choose Faith Over Fear
There are five ways to choose faith over fear and they are the following:
1. Recite Scriptures:
One of the ways to choose faith over fear is to recite scriptures. Recite scriptures that pertain to the peace of God and trust in God. When you say certain scriptures out loud, you are constantly reminding the word of what God says about fear.
Choosing faith over fear is a deliberate effort and it is easier done when you tell yourself the right thing over and over again. The word of God is not given for you to just study but also to recite and meditate.
2. Study Your Bible:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 (NKJV).
Daily studying of the Bible is a great way of choosing faith over fear because when you daily feed your spirit with the word of God, you hold on to what his word has said over a particular situation. The truth of the world cannot be compared to the accurate truth of God’s word.
3. Pray Fervently:
I am still thinking of one thing praying cannot solve because there is absolutely nothing that can be achieved without prayer. When you frequently pray fervently, you conquer fear because you are always stirred.
This builds your trust and confidence in God. When you sense the feeling of fear creeping instead of thinking of the problems around you, choose to pray instead. Praying will better solve the problem than worrying.
Pray and offer thanksgiving to God because when you thank God for the good things that happened to you in the past, it is easier to trust Him over your current situation because you know that no matter what God will always come through.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NKJV).
4. Feed Your Spirit Rightly:
We are living in a perilous time and it seems like every news line you see in the media rings an alarm. It is really scary picking up your phone because of the fear of what you will read or see. These are uncertain times and it is very vital to be discerning about what feeds your spirit.
I understand that we all want to be updated on what is going on around us but if it seems as though the news around the world is greatly affecting your mental health, it is advisable to take your mind off it.
Feed your spirit rightly by staying off social media for a while, constantly fellowshipping with God, engaging in activities, studying your Bible, praying etc.
The truth of the matter is that there will always be bad news. In the times we are living it is only going to get worse but how you handle the fear and anxiety that comes is what matters.
5. Be Sensitive to the Voice of God:
God is always speaking but do we listen? To choose faith over fear, you have to be sensitive to the voice of God. You have to listen to what God is telling you over that particular situation over what you are telling yourself about that situation.
It is very easy to heed to the voice in your head rather than the voice of God. In choosing faith over fear, you have to be sensitive to the voice of God and when you are sensitive it is so much easier to discern whether it is you talking or God talking to you. It is not just enough to be sensitive, we have to obey the voice of God.
“What is God saying about a particular situation?” Listen to His voice as He speaks to you about that particular situation. Be assured that God always gives the best advice.
In addition, obeying the word of God is also an act of being sensitive to His voice because obeying his word means obeying His voice. Obedience to the word of God builds your faith in Him because when encountering challenges it will be a smooth-sailing because you have adhered to His instructions at every point in your life.
11 Scriptures on Faith Over Fear
- Philippians 4:6: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
- John 14:27: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
- Isaiah 26:3: You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
- Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
- 1 John 4:17: Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we in this world.
- 2 Timothy 1:7: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
- Romans 8:15: For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
- Psalms 34:4: I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
- Isaiah 41:10: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
- Psalms 56:3: Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.
- Psalms 27:1: The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
Some of my favourite quotes on Faith:
‘Faith does not make things easy, it makes them possible’.
-Anonymous
‘Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase’.
-Martin Luther King Jr.
‘Faith is unseen but felt, faith is strength when we feel we have none, faith is hope when all is lost’.
–Catherine Pulsifer
‘Our pride insists we must work our way to God. Only the Christian faith present God’s grace as unconditional’.
– Randy Alcorn.
Conclusion
I hope these five points buttressed above would give you the leverage to choose faith over fear. We live in such unprecedented times and it is only normal to give in to fear but the difference between the world and us is the way we handle our fear.
Choosing faith over fear only shows that you trust in God more than the report of the world. I hope you follow the five points I have listed above and channel your fear rightly by having faith.
If you were blessed by this blog post, please share and comment. I would really appreciate your feedback and shares on this post. Have a beautiful day!
Read Also: Choose Faith Over Fear: 9 Choices You Can Make Instead of Panicking
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