Could faith or fear be a choice?  Can I choose one or the other?  Or is it something that just happens to me and I have no choice in the matter?  In other words, I can’t help myself.   It just “happens” to me.

I would suggest that faith and fear are exercising the same power.  Faith is believing for the positive thing.  Fear is believing for the negative thing.  Both believing’s are based on a word.  Where is the word coming from?  And what is that word?  Is that word THE truth or is it just true?  What might be true is not necessarily The truth.

God’s word is THE truth.  THE truth is positive because God is the Way, THE Truth and the Life.  Positive means that it’s good, constructive for us.  It is good for us because God is good.  And from the beginning of mankind, He has desired to have a love relationship with mankind.  Throughout scripture He has promised us that if we will walk in this love relationship with Him that:

“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that heals thee.” Exodus 15:26

Those who want to grow in faith, need only understand that they have been practicing faith all their lives.  They have just been practicing for the negative.  All of us are familiar with fear.  We tend to be really “good” at it.  Fear is faith for the negative.  Job said “that which I have greatly feared has come upon me.”  His faith for the negative got him what he was believing for.  Negative faith (fear) or positive faith (God’s promises) draws it to ourselves.

How about if we take that same “super power” of believing for negative things and “flip” it around and start believing for positive things, the truth (God’s promises).

There is only one place to find The Truth, that is the Word of God.  What does God’s word say about my circumstances?  Many of us just don’t know.  That is why I recommend a good place to start to find out what God thinks about my circumstances by getting a “Bible Promise Book”.  There are many versions of it and both in hard copy and various apps to download on your cell phone.  A Bible Promise Book, in the table of contents, list topically and alphabetically different circumstances that you may be going through.  You can turn to the page of the topic and find ten to twenty scriptures.  That is a quick and easy way to find out what God “says” on most topics.

God doesn’t ask us to have faith just because we love God and we are supposed to have faith, out of obligation.  But rather He asks us to have faith because of His word to us.  Whenever you want to believe God for a promise, a blessing, make sure you have a scripture, a promise of God to stand on.  The foundation of faith is knowing that it is God’s will for you.  If you are not confident that it is God’s will for you, the best you can expect is hope.  I “hope’ God will do this for me.  Yet when you know that something is God’s will for you, you can have that confident knowledge that He will bring it to pass. 

Faith is in the present.  Hope is in the future.  Faith says “I have received it.”  Hope says I believe “He’ll do it sometime” or I believe He can do it or will do it.  Faith says He has done it, I have received it.

We seem to have a great challenge to live in the present.  Often, we live in the past.  We are thinking about what did happen.  We are living in regret, what I could have, should have, would have done.  We are living with regret.  We haven’t forgiven ourselves or others.  Or, we are living in the future, of what might happen, all of the ifs and worries and what might take place.  They say that ninety percentage of that which we worry about never happens.

Jesus knew we had this innate issue of regret or worry so He gave us His exhortation.

Therefore, I say unto you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: for they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Which of you by worrying can add one cubit unto his stature?

So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin:

And yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Now, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore, do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, What shall we wear?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you need of all these things.

But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow: for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  Matthew 6:25-34

We must “practice” living in the present.  Not the past or the future but today.  Apparently today has enough challenges of its own.  I say practice because it is an on going trait I need to perfect.  From glory to glory, He is changing me.  It’s an ongoing progression until He comes for me. 

Let me ask you, how “present” are you with people you are talking to?  They think you are listening to them but are you mentally somewhere else?  Are you solely focused, in the moment, on them?  Or are you constructing what you are going to say or what you are going to do after you leave this appointment?

Living in the moment, living in the “now” takes practice.   Remember, faith is now.  Faith is in the present.  Where faith is, there is peace and joy.  Faith pleases God.  Faith is the language of heaven.  It’s by faith we overcome the trials and tribulations. 

Read Hebrews eleven and see the all heroes of faith that overcame all the calamities they encountered. 

God wants you to become a hero of faith.  It’s by faith we bring heaven down on earth.  Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…”  God wants His kingdom to invade earth and He has chosen you to be His vessel, His conduit to bring it down and have it manifested, here on earth.

Let’s chose to do the spiritual work needed to believe His promises He has given to us.  And be the vessels of honor, fit for the Master’s use, to bring heaven down on earth.  Let’s find out the specific promises He has already given us and begin to declare them, call them into manifestation and see salvation, deliverance, provision, healing, forgiveness, miracles and His love come into our world where we live, through you.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” Ephesians 1:3a

He has already given us everything we need for life and godliness, every spiritual blessing.  Yet the challenge is, it is in “heavenly places”.  Our job is to bring it down to earth and see this world change in alignment with His kingdom.  And then the scripture will be fulfilled:

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Revelation 11:15

Let’s co-labor with Him and see His kingdom come and His will be done.  Let’s focus and believe for the good things He promises and fear will be no more.

“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1Corinthians 15:55-57