Our life is a grand adventure. If you don’t believe it, spend some more time reading through God’s Word. We are part of the most epic adventure of all time. You should be excited by the role you are called to play at this moment in history. This is your moment in the story. Every day, we will face decisions and have to make the choice between fear or faith.
As Christine Cain put it in her book, “Unexpected”, “…at every juncture in your journey, you will find yourself in an impossible place with a decision to make—to shrink back in fear or to rise up in faith. One will keep you where you are, and one will deliver you to your future.”
Life is like one of those old “choose your adventure” storybooks. If you aren’t familiar with these, the books presented you with a choice at various points in the story and, depending on what you chose, would direct you to a different page in the book to continue the story. We face hundreds of choices every day, and at each decision point, we must choose fear or faith. We must choose to shrink back in fear or move forward in faith. We know what we should do. If we want to live like Jesus, we will live in love. If we live in love, we know there can be no fear because perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). Regardless of the circumstance, we should never shrink back. We should always move forward in faith knowing Jesus is with us every step along the way.
Of course, this is easier said in theory than practiced in reality. Life and our fallen predispositions have conditioned us to shrink back from anything we deem uncomfortable, awkward, risky, or potentially embarrassing. All these are lies of Satan, driven by fear and not of love. Satan wants nothing more than for you to become stuck where you are. He wants you to live life by chance rather than on purpose. When we avoid moving forward in faith, we place ourselves in far greater danger than if we had pushed past the fear and into the future God intends for us.
Perhaps the choice isn’t really fear or faith but rather the past or future. You either want to move forward or stay where you are. As uncomfortable as your current circumstances may be, they still feel safer than moving forward into the unknown. If this is how you feel, recognize this too is a lie of the devil. Jesus stands in your future reaching out His hand to lead you into all He has prepared for you. He has gone before you (Deuteronomy 31:8). He will never leave your side. You will never be alone. You are far safer following Jesus than sitting in the present, letting all He entrusted to you rot away as if buried in the ground (Matthew 25:14-30). God has a plan for your life. He created you to do specific things for His Kingdom (Ephesians 2:10). Don’t be afraid. When it comes to fear or faith, make the right choice. God is faithful. He will not fail you. Choose the future He has designed for you to live.