Faith vs. Fear

As I walk into this season, God continues to remind me of two very important words, faith or fear. During my prayer time and through my long drives on the job, I was asking God to grow my business. The response I was given caused me a lot of uneasiness or nervousness, which lead to fear. The Lord reminded me that I put too much time into my job. When would I have time for my business?

The Lord instructed me to resign my job and He would grow my business to fruition. How could I focus on my business when sometimes I was heading home after 9:00 PM from my job? How could I leave a job I had been working for almost eight months? There were so many different things that clouded my mind. This is the first job I received after my graduate degree, and after arriving to Alabama. I spent most of my life in the military. I didn’t understand what it took to work in the civilian world. Now, I was being instructed to resign. I guess I can throw that graduate degree out the window.

For two months I contemplated on resigning from my job, and I walked into disobedience because of my fears. I feared the unknown. I allowed myself to believe I wouldn’t have enough income to provide for my family. I was fearful that my business wouldn’t prosper because I don’t know anyone in Huntsville. I had so many different excuses. Sometimes we will only believe what we see. I was weak with unbelief.

Fear can cause obstacles in our lives that we create. We’re so quick to blame all our issues on the enemy, but most of the time it’s us. The devil didn’t stop me from resigning, I did. I allowed fear to encompass every aspect of my life. Fear will cause you to respond to something which is perceived as being a threat, harm or danger in a completely different way. A fearful person will change their behavior. Fear will cause you to hide, flee, freeze, become anxious, nervous, or stop you from thinking clearly.

Fear is a negative emotion that will cripple its victims through various ways. I know someone who will not drive over bridges due to fear. The individual thinks they will have an accident and fall off the bridge. The person has never had an accident on a bridge, but this is their fear. They believe bridges will potentially harm them. So, this person will drive hours out of the way to bypass a bridge to be safe. The person doesn’t think clearly and could be possibly putting themselves in danger riding a few hours out of the way.

God is reminding us that if we continue to allow fear to have control, we will never reach our destiny. We will miss our blessings if we continue to give fear access into our life. Fear will cause you to miss what God has designed just for you. It can bully you into operating in ways God hasn’t instructed.

I decided to use my faith and resign from my job. I exercised my faith by putting in my 30-day notice to the organization. It hurt because I had to leave great co-workers and some amazing clients. Me and my husband revamped the business from an individual business to a family owned business. God knows the plans He thinks toward us. I allowed my job to become my god because I was giving it more time than I was providing the true living God.

Having faith in your walk with God is extremely important. Basically, God was asking will I still trust Him even though I can’t see what He’s about to do in my life. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, but God does. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is the opposite of fear. Fear will paralyze you, but faith will energize you and catapult you into your destiny. You must learn to trust God no matter the circumstances or situations.

Faith is a gift that we are given from God (Ephesians 2:8-9), and it is produced in our lives through the Holy Spirit. Our faith grows from our study of the Word of God, testimonies of others, and as we encounter things in our lives we overcome. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Developing strong faith in God is extremely vital in your spiritual walk. Walking out your purpose will require faith. Operating in your spiritual gifts will require faith. You operate your spiritual gifts out of the measure of faith you are given.

It doesn’t matter what it looks like. You must trust God, obey His Word, live by faith, and walk faith out. God has sustained me through so many things, why wouldn’t He sustain me now. God will continue to instruct us and teach us in the way we should go (Psalm 32:8). If God told you to perform a specific act, do it. He will provide you instructions and direct your path.

Don’t be anxious, continue to seek God and He will provide you an understanding. I’m walking into this season with faith that I will receive a supernatural manifestation. Our family owned business will become an organization that our descendants will prosper from. We are leaving our spiritual legacy with God in full control.