Let Your Faith Be Bigger Than Your Fear
Recently I was in a pastor’s home in Virginia. I looked on the wall and saw this statement: “Let your faith be bigger than your fear.” It really impressed me because I know how many people are living in a state of constant fear. Many have been fearful because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Others are gripped by fear because they have lost their jobs. Our country has been paralyzed by the fear of uncertainty. Even more heartbreaking is the reality that fear has overtaken the lives of many born-again believers. What is the answer? What should the Lord’s people do when fear seems so monumental? There is a right way and a wrong way to respond to fear.
Let us first observe the wrong response to fear. When the Lord led the children of Israel out of Egypt, Pharaoh and his army pursued them. The Scriptures record what happened when the Israelites saw the teeming thousands of soldiers and chariots coming after them. Exodus 14:10–12 says,
And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
Their fear led them to dismay and despair. The fear in their hearts was as high as Mount Everest, and they felt they could never climb over it! That is what fear will do—lead us into a state of hopelessness. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man bringeth a snare.” But probably the worst response to fear touches those who have never received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Unbelievers fear what family members and friends will say or think of them if they do get saved. They fear what they will have to give up or lose if they make a profession of faith. This type of fear is so powerful that the Bible puts it on the top of the list of those who will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. Revelation 21:8 solemnly states,
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now I want to address the right response to fear and the right kind of fear. Proverbs 22:4 says, “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.” A person who truly fears the Lord stands in reverent awe of God’s holiness and majesty. He recognizes God’s power to the extent that his fear of the Lord strengthens and increases his faith. Therefore, his faith becomes greater than any fear he may encounter.
Back to Exodus 14 and the Israelites’ fear of the Egyptians. In verses 13–14 we see Moses’ fear of God, which enlarged his faith:
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
Faith trusts God and overcomes fear. First John 5:4 declares, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Today, when so many people are living in fear, every child of God needs to heed the admonition of 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” I trust that you will always be aware of the teaching of 1 John 4:4: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
Remember, “Let your faith be bigger than your fear!” Right now, you ought to pray the prayer of Luke 17:5, “Increase our faith.”
Evangelist Jerry Sivnksty may be contacted at PO Box 141, Starr, SC 29684 or via e-mail at .
(Originally published in FrontLine • July/August 2021. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.)
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