Fear and Faith

2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and
of a sound mind."

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It first took hold of my heart in 1994 while my father was undergoing heart by-pass surgery for the second time. I was afraid that he may not make it at that time. I remember picking up a Bible on the table in the waiting room and skimming through the pages while family members talked among themselves. It was very difficult to focus on any scripture with all the talking going on around me. But, God somehow allowed me to focus on this one scripture, 2 Timothy 1:7. Since that time, I continue to return to this scripture time after time. It has been a great help to me. It has given me great peace.

All through the scriptures I have noticed time after time phrases such as "fear not" and "do not fear". Each time I read a passage with these phrases, my mind comes back to 2 Timothy.

If fear didn't come from God, why did I have fear? This is a question that baffled me for a long time. It took a lot of searching through scripture for this verse to make sense to me.

I began to look at people in the Bible and saw that in many instances they had failures due to fear. I discovered that my fear came from my unbelief. An unbelief that God wasn't able to do all that He said He could do. I began to realize that fear is a tool that is used to diminish my faith. At this point I knew that they only was I could ease my fear was to deal with my unbelief. I still work daily at growing my faith through reading scripture, prayer, meditating on God's Word and trying to, with the abilities that God has given me, to tell others about Christ. I figured that if fear comes from unbelief, it would be very difficult - if not impossible for God to work within my fear. Now, I go to God in faith when I pray instead of fear.

There is a lot of fear today in world. News casts are filled with overwhelming reports on how bad the economy is and what it will mean for us in our own lives and families. It is good to know what is going on in the world around us. But, we need to realize that we who are saved are not of the world but rather are in the world. Instead, we should focus and have belief and trust on the promices that God gives us while we are still in the world. For most of us, if you are like me, our focus should be working on our fear by striving to rid our unbelief.

Thanks

Recently, as you know, we have gone through some difficult financial situations. We are still facing them somewhat. I know and believe with everything in me that God always provides whatever you need. I am thankful to God that He has provided all our needs and know that He will continue to do so in the future.

Saying that, I would also like to thank my mother. She has been extremely instrumental in God providing for us. She has gone above and beyond providing our needs. She has also made it possible for improvements in our yard making it more comfortable and pleasing to the eye. Eventhough at times, life can be difficult, God uses others and their unique circumstances to help in times of difficulties.

I also am thankful for the new roof and driveway the owner of the house we live in has provided as well. This also has made our yard more pleasing to the eye. His graciousness is greatly appreciated. We know that God also has used the owner's unique circumstances to provide these things as well.

I am thankful for the many prayers from family and friends regarding the lack of work we had during the winter months. The phone is ringing again and if it be God's will, we will once again be back on track with our business. I know that God is also using our customer's to provide our needs as well.

I know things look down at times especially in this economy and with all that is going on in our world. But, I also know if you look up and focus on things above that God is faithful. He never leaves or forsakes you. He is always with you and able to carry you through.