Jesus spoke of people who did not use their faith as being faithless. He spoke of those with little faith and of those with great faith. The Bible also teaches that each person has a certain amount of faith received as a gift from God:
Romans 12:3 "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
Each believer has some faith because it is through faith you are saved, but this measure of faith can be increased. Here are three steps to replace fear with faith:
1. Hear God's Word!
Romans 10:17 "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
This is evident in saving faith, because you must first hear the Word of God in order to repent of your sin and receive Jesus as Savior. After you are saved, Biblical teaching and preaching continue to increase your faith. The more you hear the Word of God, the more your faith increases. The more faith increases the easier it is to defend against spiritual attacks of the enemy because even a small amount of faith is very powerful:
Matthew 17:20 "So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Nothing is impossible if you have even a small amount of faith! Here are some selected Scriptures that will eliminate fear and generate faith:
Psalm 56:3, 4 "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?"
Psalms 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 46:2 "Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
Psalms 27:3 "Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident."
Psalms 118:6 "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
Proverbs 29:25 "The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe."
Isaiah 41:13 "For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, `Fear not, I will help you.’"
Isaiah 12:2 "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; `For YAH, the Lord, is my strength and song; he also has become my salvation.’”
Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
Isaiah 44:8 "Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one."
Hebrews 13:6 "So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
Romans 8:15 "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
2. Keep your mind on God!
Despite negative circumstances, you will remain peaceful when your mind is fixed on God:
Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."
The word “stayed” in this verse is translated from a Hebrew word which means “to lean upon or take hold, to be established and steadfast.” To keep your mind fixed on God means trusting Him at all times and in all circumstances, believing that when you face the enemy and do not know what to do He has the answer!
3. Act on your faith!
Faith is a fact, but it is also an act. Hebrews 11 is called the “faith chapter” because of its numerous references to the faith of the great men and women listed there. In each example, faith is combined with works:
-By faith Abel offered a sacrifice.
-By faith Enoch walked with God.
-By faith Noah prepared an ark.
-By faith Abraham moved to an unknown land.
-By faith Sarah birthed a child when she was past childbearing age. -By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed seven days.
And so the chronicle continues. Attitude is combined with action and faith is illustrated both as a fact and an act.
Faith is what you believe and works are what you do. The Bible teaches faith is a gift of God increased by hearing and responding to His Word, but this does not mean works are not important. James declared:
James 2:17, 18 "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
Your works, how you live, and react to the circumstances of life around you are a test of the reality of your faith.
James sums up the connection between faith and works by the example of the relationship between man's body and spirit. The Bible teaches that when a man dies, his spirit leaves his body. James declares that...
James 2:26 "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
Your actions should reflect the living faith within you because Galatians 3:11 “the just shall live by faith” and
Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
When you face circumstances of life for which there seems to be no answer and when you don’t know what to do the very first thing to do is replace fear with faith. Like Jehoshaphat, get your eyes off the problem and direct your attention to God. Fear paralyzes, but faith energizes you to take the next step forward.
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