Hey there,
I hope you’ve been well? Today’s blogpost will be about the choice between Faith or fear. This is an updated blog post based on something I wrote 6 years ago, but I still believe it’s very relevant. Here’s to old wisdom with new understanding.
Behold the man
I once heard a message titled “Behold the man” based on John 19:4.
Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
John 19:4 KJV
It was all about behold, now the literal meaning of behold = see, observe,.. It was about Jesus who was man and God at the same time. They looked at 3 different things that Jesus did where you could see that He was man AND God. It was also about faith and fear. Faith= the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Fear= your doubt, your distraction. (This part is just to help you understand the symbolics and the rest of the story)
Between everything that was said I realised something: I had to behold myself and see where I went wrong. I had to reflect on the choices I was making in life. You know that when you’re scared or when you’re strong, it’s a choice that u consciously make? Yeah well.. Here you go if you didn’t know.
Choices
I realised that my feeling down and loosing hope was a choice that I made. I chose for fear over faith. I was running away because I was scared and I knew that I couldn’t do it myself. I don’t know why I let it slip my mind that God doesn’t want you to do it yourself. I don’t know where my faith went to.
It’s so much easier to think that the emotions that you feel are the explanation for the things you do rather than take responsibility for the actions that you chose to take.
Before I can say that, I need to explain what “choices” are.
The definition of choices:
An act of choosing between two or more possibilities.
google
Based on this definition, you can see that whenever there are possibilities, there is a choice to be made. Now some will say that you had no choice is doing what you did, but even when you can’t see the other option, it doesn’t mean that there weren’t any.
Whenever you think that there are no other options, ask yourself why you think that. Based on the answer you give yourself, you will know whether there truly aren’t any options anymore or you just don’t want to do the other option.
Faith or Fear?
Sometimes choosing fear seems the easiest thing to do, but trust me the easy way always turns out harder than the difficult way. I don’t know why I didn’t just go to my friends and tell them the truth from the beginning. I didn’t only loose faith in general, but also in my friends. This is the worst thing I’ve ever done, because loosing faith in life and friends, to me it’s like loosing faith in God, because God is above the circumstances. By not acting in the boldness and grace that He has given me, I’m choosing fear over faith.
How to know when you’re walking in Faith or in Fear?
There are various questions that you can ponder on to see whether you’re acting in faith or whether you’re acting based on fear.
One of the first questions that you can ask yourself is “why are you doing what you’re doing?”
Whether its fame, money, acknowledgement, likes or stability. There is always a reason why you’re doing what you’re doing. It might take a while to figure out what that reason is, but trust me it’s important to know. When you dig deeper into the why, you will find that you’re either doing it because you believe in something or because you are afraid of something, hence: faith or fear.
Another question to ask yourself is “how do I think of God?”
How you perceive God, whether you believe or not, is a huge indicator of how you look at life. From which angle you trust in people of authority, your guardians and parents. How you perceive your higher ups and how you react to what they say or do.
If you have a loving image of God, it usually means that you’ll have a more trusting and positive view of the people in your life. If you have a negative or distrusting view of God, it will show in how you trust and relate to other people.
You should also ask youself “how do I perceive myself?“
How you see, think and believe in yourself has an immediate impact on how you behave. When you see yourself as a bad person, that is how you will behave towards others, if you believe that you are unworthy, that is how you will treat yourself and allow others to treat you, because Luke 6:45 says
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:45
This is why it’s crucial to check on your heart every so often. Becase the things you meditate on within your heart is who you will become and who you will act upon.
Based on these three questions you can easily tell in which direction your life is headed at the moment. Remember where you end up is dependant on what you think and believe within your own heart.
Lastly, you should ask yourself “why did I answer the way I did?”
The answer to this one is either Faith or Fear.
Based on these questions you can easily tell whether you’re living your life in Faith or fear.
Conclusion
Always be aware of what you choose: faith or fear? The way you can make sure that you always make the right choice, is by making sure that your foundation is right!! If you are a believer, you have to make sure u know and understand enough of the Word, so that you can stand firmly in your faith and know on what your faith is based! Keep practising your faith and keep growing in faith, so that your choices will be made based on the truth!
Even if you don’t believe make sure you check your choices and make sure that they are based on the truth. On top of that, be honest to yourself and others ( lol I’m saying this cause it will really help you.. I also had to get real with myself and now I also have to be honest with others..) I’m not saying thisthat it’s easy, don’t take it that way. Like no way.. Some times you’ll go through things the hard way, but that always results to the best! Going through it the hard way is better than taking the easy way out, while adding more fear to your life.
So ask yourself now; “Am I living in Faith or Fear?
I hope you enjoyed the post on Faith and Fear, let me know what your favorite part was below.
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Big love,
Joy
