Two Options: Faith or Fear

Security, a sense of safety, is a basic need.  Even secular psychology recognizes this fundamental, biblical truth.  In fact, our human minds have only two default pathways to choose: faith or fear.  The path of fear leads to captivity and death.  The path of faith leads to hope and life.  Designed for life, those on the path of fear experience physical, emotional, mental and spiritual torment.  God alone offers hope and healing.

Insecurity is rampant in our world.  Regular reports of war, terrorism, gang violence and child abuse tell our sad story.  PTSD is now a commonly used word. The extreme stress of battle produces trenches of fear that drown battle survivors.  Whether the battles occur in war or in broken homes, the results are the same: pits, cesspools of fear that destroy lives.  Seeking the presence of God is the ladder out of the pit.  Trust in God transforms.

Hebrews 13:6 

“Hence we can confidently say, ” ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’ “

We are born with a desire for life—a survival instinct if you will.  In pursuit of life, however, we often fall prey to lies.  Fear entered (and continues to enter) the world with a single choice:  we reject the friendship of God and choose to blaze our own path to fulfillment. We take what appears to be a shortcut to a good outcome. We trust in our plan instead of the generosity and wisdom of God.  The problem is that everything of earth is in the process of decay.  Nothing seen is eternal.   When success rests on what we can see, true faith is crippled and failure is certain.  Faith—trust—must be in God alone.

Fear looms in front of us with that first step on our chosen pathway.  That fear blinds us to the loving presence of God.  Yet just like in the Garden, our precious unchanging Savior calls, “Where are you?”  His desire is always to be with us, but we sit captive to the fear instead of walking toward Him in faith.  Eventually we stop believing that He even calls.

In Romans, Paul told us, nothing ever separates us from the love of God.  It is always there in the midst of our sin and unbelief, in the midst of our pride and self-will, in the center of our chosen path!  While Scripture does not say, I am certain God stood right next to Adam and Eve as they gazed on the temptation and chose to betray His love.  In love, He let them choose so they could learn to love sincerely.

The pits we fall into, even the pits we jump into, contain the love of God.  He is always with us, ready to save us.  There is healing in the presence of God.  Will you receive it?  In the very moment you read this, His love surrounds you.  Will you turn from it, looking for something more, something tangible?  Or will you bow in the face of such mercy and grace, letting it fill you with life so you can go and tell others?