Life Has Two Doors: Faith and Fear
by Olga Hermans
There are so many things going on in the world right now, that it is very easy to let fear strike our hearts, especially in this time of the year. Christmas can bring all kinds of feelings to us and as we get to the end of 2011 to enter into 2012, uncertainties, worries and doubt try to get to us.
If there were two doors in front of you: one is called FEAR and the other is called FAITH; which one would you choose for the New Year? Of course, you would choose the door of FAITH. But do you realize that as you enter through the door of FAITH that FEAR doesn’t live there?
Many people are afraid of losing their health, their wealth and their loved ones. Some people are afraid of life itself. When you look around, you can see that many people are ruled by fear. It can absolutely take over a person’s life. I made a commitment to myself that I will not live in fear. This is what I confess on a regular basis.
Until the power of fear is broken in our lives, we are held captive to it, which means we are not free to follow God. To discover the life that You were Born to live and to enjoy all the blessings He wants to give us, we simply must refuse to live in fear. If fear rules in our lives we cannot enjoy anything we do. Fear brings torment and we must refuse to entertain it or our lives will be miserable.
Satan will always intimidate you through words, actions, or signs. But did you know that God does that as well; He also approaches you with words, actions, or signs. God desires for you to act on what He says, because then His Words will come into manifestation. When we act on what God says, we will be blessed in our deeds.
Satan will always try to intimidate us and tempt us to act upon our fears. Fear will bring things to pass just like faith will. Job said, “The thing which I greatly feared has come upon me” (Job 3:25).
Many of us have a fear of failure and are being intimidated or tempted by Satan to act on that fear, but there is absolutely no way that he can cause that to become a reality unless you start acting on what he says.
I remember a teacher in our bible school telling us that she had asked this question of God: “Father, can the devil do anything that he wants to do, anytime that he gets ready to do it?” God told her, “If he could do anything he wanted to do, anytime he got ready to do it, then why would he have to deceive you first?”
God has given us a choice and the choice is up to us what we do when satan comes to us with temptations to fear. When we refuse to fear, satan has to flee from us with his intimidations.
Man stands in a strategic position. He can be contacted by both God and Satan. You might say that man is the establishing witness (Matt. 18:16; 2 Cor. 13:1).
Satan intimidates and tempts us with thoughts and words of fear and if we act on them, they come to pass. God contacts us through His Word and if we acts on His Word; it comes to pass. We can choose to refuse fear and act in faith.
The devil is limited and cannot do anything unless he first comes in and deceives, intimidates, or tempts the man and then gets him to fall for it and act in fear. If we do not refuse him in faith and believe his intimidations, then he has a legal right to cause it to become a reality. It’s as simple as that.
We all have been through difficult situations, where we thought there was no way out. I have been in a couple severe situations; some very painful and some very, very emotional. But God always showed up to rescue me and showed me the way out of my distress and as I stepped through the door of FAITH, my life changed from faith to faith and from glory to glory again!
There are more types of fear than we could name or count, but they all have the same source and the same purpose. They are all from the enemy and they are intended to rob us blind if we choose to let them. God is always right there to show us the way of escape.
As we go through trials, we must develop a right mental attitude and the only way to do that is to know what the Word of God says. If you do not recognize that God will always make a way of escape available in every circumstance then you will stay negative about your problem and expect satan to beat you.
The Bible says in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
Remember, there are two doors in front of you and when you enter the door of FAITH, there is no fear there. Faith and fear are like magnets: faith is a magnet that draws the very best and fear draws the worst; they both are expectations!
Fear is the opposite of faith. We receive from satan though fear, and we receive from God through faith. We can know and do God’s will through placing our faith in Him, but we can cooperate with satan’s plan though fear. When we are afraid, we may fail to do what God wants us to do and, instead, end up doing what the devil wants us to do.
When fear knocks at the door of your life, but finds you full of faith, it cannot enter in. I’d like to encourage you to meditate on and confess that you are filled with faith. Say: “I am full of faith!”
When satan comes to attack you with fear by bringing pressure, you can confidently say something like this: “Satan, I refuse to fear. I am not moved by what I see. You can do whatever you want, but God will always provide a way of escape. God will not allow you to defeat me; He showed a way of escape to Job and He will do the same for me. God is on my side; He is not a respecter of persons; you can’t beat me!”
That is the right mental attitude to approach the pressure that satan tries to bring against you. When difficult times come upon you, that is the time for you to grow in faith.
Everybody can go through tests, trials, and temptations and come out on the other side beaten and worn out. But there is a strength, a power that comes when you approach your situation with the right mentality. Make a choice to enter through that door of FAITH and come out victoriously instead of entering through that door of FEAR and be defeated.
The decision is up to you! Think about it!
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