Out of Faith or Out of Fear: On what do you base your actions?

The Merriam-Webster has some very interest definitions of faith. ¹Faith can be an allegiance to duty, loyalty, fidelity, a belief or trust in God, or a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. When it comes to the Biblical meaning of faith, the passage in Hebrews 11 comes up in most people’s minds:

‘faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’

Hebrews 11 vs 1

The passage continues to speak about all manner of things that would not happen without faith; the most important being:

‘But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.’

Hebrews 11 vs 6

Taking this passage alone into account; what does it mean to act out of faith or fear?

Personal experience has taught me that in most cases, the most common reaction is one motivated by fear. Think about it; a car driving in your direction leaves its lane and starts heading straight for you, what motivates your next action? An escaped lion wanders into your back yard as you are sunbathing, what will motivate your reaction? I can bet it will not be faith.

These are very basic examples of the normal human reaction to danger, we are wired for self-preservation. Even a toddler can know to stay away from the sharp end of a household pet without being told. It is part of the human makeup.

And as part of our nature, we tend to do this in not just the basic areas, but in almost everything. How many times have you heard of someone turning down a really good job because they were not ready to leave their hometown for fear of the big city? Or the eighty-something year old who refuses to retire for fear of loneliness and loss of purpose. Many examples can be used which illustrate just how much our lives are generally being guided by an internal fear.

And yet, the Bible is asking us, or rather telling us in very strong terms, to go against the natural grain and believe in One whom we have never seen. I think this is asking a lot from a people who are set in making decisions out of self-preservation.

People are taught that ‘your happiness is the only thing that matters,’ ‘if you are not happy then the relationship is not worth it,’ ‘always look out for number one,’ and I’m sure you can think of many more examples.

But Paul is saying the opposite, ignore what you know and can see with your own eyes, and base your life instead on what you believe. In order to do this you must of course have something to believe in right? If you believe in Budda for example, your faith in him must be so concrete that it overrides your natural desires. So if Budda speaks of promoting peace at all times, you must be able to go against the natural desire to scream abuse at the driver who cuts in front of you while driving down the highway, why? Because your faith in what your Budda says is more real to you than what you have in your human knowledge.

The same applies to us, the believers of Jesus Christ. We have to daily, constantly choose to set aside our natural reactions that are grounded in fear, and instead turn to what truth we have been given in God’s word. This is often easier said than done.

When faced with the prospect of losing something I had just found this week, I found myself deep in a mess that I created in my clever ingenuity. You see, I believed that just because I prayed about the situation, every action regarding it would be approved by God. It was not. I was so afraid of missing out that I did things that I believed would secure my position -which I was so afraid of losing. In the process, I made a mess of a what would have otherwise been a very straightforward course.

Lesson learnt? Faith is an inoculant of fear. Faith is the natural, innate, first hand reaction of the reborn Christian. It does not become that way automatically, but rather through the diligent work of the Holy Spirit on our willing lives.

Learning something often requires repetition, and so becoming a faith-led person will require constant conscious effort to choose faith in place of fear. If I had chosen faith in my actions this week, I would have asked for God’s guidance and then waited to be given instruction knowing that He would certainly do so. I would have exercised patience because I would be confident in my faith on what I hope for but have not yet seen.

Choose faith because it is so much easier than fear. Choose faith because it cuts out the mess that your clever ingenuity will produce – and which you will have to clear up. Choose faith because the more you do it the more it will become your nature. Choose faith because faith will make you stronger, while fear will continue to leave you weak and helpless.

Choose faith because it is the only way to truly please God.