Trust Over Fear. By Christina Cannon

Fear is something that most, if not all of us battle at some point in our lives. Fear of failure, fear of the known and unknown, fear of our future, fear of a scary health diagnosis, fear of what is taking place in our world, and many more than those listed. Our thoughts, with the constant barrage of negative thinking, run rampant. When our focus is on the problem, we don’t make room for God to guide us into His truth. God wants us to trust Him no matter the outcome. It’s not the resolution of the problem that God is after, it is our hearts. The outcome He desires is a trusting relationship with Him. We must learn to keep our focus on God regardless of the answer. He is our answer. We must learn to raise our gaze from the problem to our Savior.

When we choose to trust and seek God, we are helped. He will uphold us. The circumstances may not change, but our hearts and mindset will as long as we learn to abide in Him.

Isaiah 41:10

“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

There is good reason to stop worrying about tomorrow, for the current day already has enough of its own. God wants us to live in the moment. Worrying about tomorrow is a thief, it keeps us from enjoying the now. We must learn to walk in alignment with God, keeping our focus on Him, and trusting Him to navigate us through the difficult times. I know that is easy to say and hard to do. That is why we must rely on God’s word and speak it into our minds and hearts continually so that it becomes second nature to always seek Him first. He becomes the peace our lives need.

Matthew 6:34

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Isaiah 26:3

“You keep him in perfect PEACE whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

Fear is paralyzing. It keeps us from moving forward. We aren’t able to see past the fear. Our focus on the situation or what might be keeps us bound.

Again, I can’t speak enough of the importance of not allowing fear to overtake you. Once you give in to fear, it becomes harder to come out of. It’s best to head it off as soon as it enters our thinking. As soon as those thoughts enter, use God’s word to counteract and squash those thoughts.

Ps 27:1

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Ps 28:7-8

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him. The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed.”

Maintaining a heart of gratitude is one of the best ways to keep fear away. When you are continually thankful for all that God has done in your life, fear has no place to land. Gratitude breeds joy!

1 Thess 5:16-18

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Proverbs 17:22

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

When life’s circumstances are more than you can bear, and you have no words to utter, allow scripture to be your voice. God’s word can become your heart’s cry and the message you need.

When we have no control over what takes place in our lives and fear of the unknown and known overwhelm us, we have a choice to make. We can choose to allow fear to control our lives or, we can choose to trust God in difficult circumstances.

Choosing to trust God over fear is the best decision we can make. It is not a one-and-done decision. We are challenged to choose trust in Him over and over again. When the circumstances don’t change because they are what they are, we must decide to abide in Christ. What we choose to focus on is what becomes big. Our relationship with God becomes the focus when we focus on Him rather than on our circumstances. Since we will be spending eternity with God, developing that relationship on earth is a good thing to focus on. 

It is in difficult circumstances that our relationship with God is strengthened as long as we choose Him. Our dependence on God is crucial for navigating all that life throws our way. We can not do life without Him nor were we meant to. It is our relationship with God that keeps us grounded in truth. It is what He is after.

If you desire peace, you must find the scriptures that speak to your heart and mind and keep them readily available. Make a scripture memory book so that you have the scriptures at your fingertips. The scriptures I referenced are some of my go-to’s. They may be yours as well.

His word is our lifeline!

Sometimes hanging on is the best we can do. It’s Who/what we hang onto that makes the difference!

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”

If you have the time, I encourage you to make the time, to listen to this message from Pastor Louie Giglio titled “Fear Must Fall”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v68aKr9dFy8&authuser=0

Listening to godly sermons and messages is a great tool to keep your mind focused on truth. It ing I practice doing several times a week. It has made a huge difference in my relationship with God. It helps me to abide in Him!

Jeremiah 17:7
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.”

Lord, I pray for each person reading this message. I pray that they know you are with them and that You are trustworthy. May they cling to You and never let go. Lord, You are our help, You are our hope, and You are the peace our souls need. Help us to trust You knowing it is You that will keep us from falling into despair. Fear is a thief and debilitating. When fear tries to hijack us, help us to immediately run to you. You are our assurance and our Hope. Help us to focus on our relationship with You! You are our strength and you always are with us. Help us to recognize and see You in the midst of our troubles. You never leave nor forsake us. You are the lifter of our heads. May our eyes see You and our hearts be filled with gratitude. Gratitude changes how we see things. We need heart change and You are the One we can rely on. Transform our thinking and help us to keep our focus steadfast on You!