Someone comes to you with a situation - they come to you, filled with fear, but beneath the fear, hope as well. With the biblical mindset that you have, you tell them, "You must have faith!"
Wait, what?
I think I must be missing something here, because from where I stand, not only are faith and fear not segregated, they are ultimately and profoundly intertwined; it's rare that one is found without some amount of the other.
If you would disagree with me, and say that faith and fear do not mix, may I politely ask what you would define faith as, please? Actually, it doesn't matter what you define it as. The Bible clearly and pointedly defines faith, with a devout Christian who seeks God's face in mind.
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1
We fear what we have faith in - what we cannot see, while we may have great faith in it, we also fear it, because we do not know it. "For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know in full, even as I am fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12
Fear... really, it can be a very healthy thing. We were all told when we were young not to do certain things, such as not to jump on the bed. When we were small, I think everyone bumped their head after falling off the bed from disobeying and jumping on it. We came to have a healthy fear of falling in such a way. Running up the stairs? Playground stunts? Climbing up the fridge handles? We have received the same cautions from those wiser than us - same results. This goes to prove the thought that not only do we fear the unknown, we are also immensely curious of it. But wait.
Isn't curiosity what killed the cat?
And where am I going with this, now?
While we have faith, hope, and fear - those three are not enough to really cause passionate action or interest. We are a hopelessly curious race... alas, humanity! How complex thou art....
So, what do we have now? Faith, Fear, Hope, and Curiosity - all emotions that we feel towards something that I've hinted at, but not directly stated.
The future.
The future that you fear and also have faith in the the same one that God has ordained for your life - He who loves you has given you "a hope and a future" and a hope for your future. He has not only planned the beginning, the middle, and the end of your life, but He's already there. He is restoring your past, caring for your present, and upholding your future all the time, because He cares for you loves you with all His heart - indeed, so much that He to send His Son, whom He loves, to lay down His life for us, so that we could be called His friends and His children.
Fear - is not wrong. We are called to bring all our worries, our hopes, and everything else, to the throne-room of Grace. When we turn over our fear, along with everything else, we recieve the one thing that keeps everything in control - the peace of God.
So, what better do we have in this life than to "Seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly wit our God"? Go, therefore, with intermixed faith and fear, and seek Him in all your ways.
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