If I Fear, Do I Have Faith?

     There seems to be plenty to be afraid of lately i.e. COVID, violence, political unrest, and financial loss. As Christians, do we give in to our fears? David in Psalms has been captured by the Philistines, known for their brutality, yet he writes in Psalm 56:3-4, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise--in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" 

    I admire David's bravery, but I can think of a lot of things mere mortals can do to me! Many don't even involve violence, yet it can be devastating all the same. In her book, Intimacy with God, Cynthia Heald, on page 33, quotes Charles H. Spurgeon's response to Psalm 56:3-4:

It is blessed fear which drives us to trust. Unregenerate fear drives from God, gracious fear drives to Him. If I fear man I have only to trust God, and I have the best antidote. To trust when there is no cause for fear, is but the name of faith, but to be reliant upon God when occasions for alarm are abundant and pressing, is the conquering faith of God's elect. Though the verse is in the form of resolve, it became a fact in David's life; let us make it so in ours. Whether the fear arise from without or within, from past, present, or future, from temporals or spiritual, from men or devils, let us maintain faith, and we shall soon recover courage (The Treasury of David, vol. 2, p. 89).

    If I fear, do I have faith? In the Old Testament of the Bible, fear of God was mentioned by Moses, in Exodus 20:20 when he told the Israelites, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." Some have used the notion of "putting the fear of God in you," as an inaccurate stance that God sits around looking for ways to scare people into submission. Rather than the true idea that those who know and love the Lord have a respect or awe of Him which can be synonymous in the Bible with the term "fear" of God. In this case, it would definitely be reasonable to have fear and faith simultaneously in your relationship with God. 

    Many times throughout the Bible we are reminded not to be afraid, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). When we are weak in our faith and stuck in our fears, God is faithful to uphold us with His strength. 

    The LORD even showed a sense of humor when He told the Israelites, through the prophet Jeremiah, "Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good" (Jeremiah 10:5). He told them to essentially dismiss these senseless idols that can't harm them nor help them. Our faith should be firmly planted on the Rock of Ages and our fears should be measured against the immensity of our Creator. 

    Will we fear? Yes. Should we fear? No. But when our faith wavers, we can go to the Word of God and be upheld by the right hand of God through the scriptures: Psalm 34:4-5; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 46:1-3; Psalm 41:13; Luke 14:27; and Genesis 50:21. David was constantly on the run from his enemies, but over and over in the Psalms he trusted God to protect him, "You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield" (Psalm 115:11). It's time to remind our fear and our faith, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). 

Isaiah 41:13 "For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'"