In the common vernacular you might be thinking that one of the two words being referred to is a word that has no place in a blog with this title.  And you’d be right.  The two “f” words that I am referring to can have an incalculable impact on our daily and eternal lives, they are:  faith and fear. 

Whether we actually use the two words or just live out the actions those two words imply, the words have some of the most important implications to the outcome of our lives, personally, professionally and spiritually of any words in our language.

Let’s start out by defining terms.  The author of Hebrews in Chapter 11 does a wonderful job of defining faith in his letter: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…….By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”  Faith, then does not rely on us, our ability to comprehend or explain, or our ability to bring about.  It is the basic  belief  in God and His ability to provide without the need of proof.  Now fear comes in many different forms within the bible.  Moses fears failure and embarrassment when he tries to resist God’s plan to return to Egypt.  Jesus warns of bodily fear when his disciples believe they are going to parish in a storm at sea.  He warns later his disciples about fearing those who can cause bodily harm versus fearing Him who can kill and then send the soul to hell.  There is the fear of persecution and isolation when Jesus discusses the fear of being cast out of the synagogues for his sake.  Except the appropriate fear of the Father, all other fears Jesus teaches against.

The truth is we are given the ability to choose between these two paths and indeed it is a choice that we have to make daily, sometimes hourly our entire lives.  The more we choose one, the harder it is to live in or with the other (with one exception).  The choice we make will greatly decide the actions we take.  On the one hand faith is the enabler.  Faith enables us to take risks when the world would brand us foolish.  Faith enables to see beyond the physical or outward beauty to the otherwise invisible beauty or potential that exists.  Faith enables us to be positive of the outcome when the circumstances would preclude triumph.  Faith enables action.

Fear on the other hand is a great disabler.  Fear leads us to stay where we are because to take action would only make matters worse.  Fear causes us to make sure that we can prove an outcome will be positive before we ever attempt it.  Fear will keep us from reaching out to others to give or receive assistance because we may appear weak or be taken advantage of.  Fear disables action.

There is one exception to how fear disables.  When we are faced with such an overwhelming, overpowering, awe inspiring presence, that we have no earthly chance of comprehending, the natural reaction to our total lack of significance is to be afraid.  That is how it is to be in the presence, the “hands” if you will of the Living God.  Yet over and over again He does not exploit that fear, calms it through His Grace, Mercy and Love.

Understand, you are making this choice at every new day/every new circumstance whether you are aware of it or not.  If we are a people of this world, feeling that we completely know or should know about cause and effect, complete and total responsibility for the outcomes of our actions, that logic and thought should be the basis of all or even most action, then we are much more likely to live a life of fear.  However, if we believe the simple straight forward promise of Jesus; “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible” and “all things are possible to him who believes”; then we will find ourselves taking actions and having successes that we never thought possible.  We will even see setbacks in the context of temporary versus the triumphs that are promised to come.  That we don’t understand how they will happen is not a hinderance in the least.

Know that faith is the fertile ground where Love, Joy, and Prosperity grow.  Decide right now those are the crops that you want to harvest and ask God for the soil.  For as Jesus said:  Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you shall find; Knock and the door shall be opened to you. 

Make faith your word of choice