For two years, our world was shut down because of Covid. Every single day our media outlets informed us, and some still inform us, how many Covid cases there were, how many were in the hospital, and how many deaths. Our leaders and the media spread fear. There is a basic reason for people spreading fear. If we fear, then they can control us. If we have faith and take even a small risk, we are out of their control. Faith is never controlled.
For centuries, leaders in the church have attempted to control the followers of Jesus. They always used fear, which in many forms is the use of works. If they can control the followers of Jesus, they believe that they do not look bad as leaders s because the people’s behavior appears obedient to the Bible. The faithful Christians continued to live their lives by faith, and with Jesus, they changed the world. If we want to change the world, we must live by faith and not fear. The Bible does say to fear God. Our church leaders have for centuries had people fearing them over God. That is the problem.
When we choose to fear, we live within perimeters. We choose not to crossover into unknown territory. We don’t change, which means we don’t grow. We become envious of those who are successful, and instead of admiring their successes, we insult and invalidate their work with terms that trigger people’s emotions that sound good but are guilt shaming people. We guilt shame people because we are too afraid to take a risk and live by faith and do what we are demanding that they do.
In no way am I advocating for people to live recklessly. Having faith is not reckless, until you begin to think about it. This summer for the first time since early 2020, I got in a metal tube, and with a pilot I do not know, I flew in the sky over 40,000 feet to the other side of the country. Whether you are an atheist or a believer in God, flying requires faith in something and someone. It doesn’t seem reckless to fly on a commercial airline, but it does require faith. It doesn’t mean that people don’t have healthy fears, like choosing a specific airline, but living by faith requires us to step away from fear and trust. Faith requires trust.
We must trust God even when life is full of trials, and we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. We were never promised an easy and comfortable life. God has promised us that he will be with us. Last summer was stressful as we moved. It was chaotic. Nothing went as planned, including the movers forgetting that they scheduled us to move. Then, I went back to the classroom to teach. I love the students; however, it was the worst year I have ever experienced in education. Every teacher in America will tell you the same thing. In the mess and chaos, I saw God work in my coworkers, my students, and in me. God is with us in the chaos. I also had to choose to have faith in the chaos. I refused to just walk away and give up on my students and myself. I pressed forward.
In some parts of my life, I have created the chaos. In my first few years of youth ministry, I was unorganized. It would cause stress in my leaders and me. From an event where I became the victim of the leader’s disorganization, I learned that creating chaos creates distrust and faith is difficult to find. When we create chaos, we must turn to God and other human beings to help us out of the situation, but if we do not learn from it, then we just got rescued and our faith plateaus. When our faith plateaus, we question where God is, and then we begin to question if God cares for us or if He even exists. We must work to create peace in our lives so we can manage the chaos that interrupts us.
It's not about doing activities that require risk, that builds faith over fear. It’s an inward peace that brings calm. One of the aspects of having faith over fear is peace. We must create peace in our lives amidst the chaos. Peace doesn’t appear. It is created. Peace is not what the world gives, which is no chaos or no violence, but peace is being strong when the chaos hits and understanding your role.
When we take time to rest, peace abounds in our soul. Summertime is a time of rest as the days linger and beg for us to stop and enjoy God’s creation. Whether it is taking time to read a book, sitting on the porch, and reflecting on the sunset or sunrise, or taking a vacation away from the noise, summertime reminds us that we all must take time away from the busyness. Our jobs can have us take a day away from them. We must take time to rest. We must understand that God took time to rest, and we can too.
Staying healthy with rest, food, and exercise brings peace to our souls. We understand that we are a whole body and not just one dimensional. God commanded us to rest. He created a day for us to remember to rest because He knew that our physical bodies needed it. We must be healthy because in times of a crisis, a healthy person makes the best decisions. A person who is unhealthy harms others and themselves.
Having faith doesn’t mean being reckless but taking a risk that doesn’t harm but helps. Since the world has made us fearful in the past two years, many people stopped taking risks with their talents, gifts, careers, and relationships. Without risk, you don’t change. Without change you don’t grow. When you don’t grow, you become stagnant. When you are stagnant, you begin to question why other people are successful. Then, you begin to wonder if God loves you less than others because you are not doing what you want to be doing. The downward spiral happens slowly, but when you crash, you are in a deep dark hole without faith and a whole lot of fear.
Taking a risk requires curiosity, which requires you asking questions of what should be done. If you are curious of why you have a passion, you must research your heart and the reason why you are passionate about that subject. God has given us passions that match our gifts and talents. If we do not use the gifts and talents that he gave us, we are not having faith. Faith becomes real when we choose to do that for which we have a passion.
So, let us live the rest of this year with our passions and becoming faithful. As we are faithful, we will gain faith and the fear will slowly fade away because we are too busy focusing on what we are doing and what we can control in our lives rather than focusing on what we cannot control. Focus brings faith. Focus on Jesus. Focus on what you can do and what you can control. Before you know it, your focus will reveal your faith, which will diminish your fear.
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