Faith is the opposite of fear. What does the Bible say about faith to help us understand what it means? Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” What do I have confidence in? God’s Word. His Word is truth.
Fear, on the other hand, is a lie. Think about it this way. Some years ago I was visiting a friend in Phoenix, AZ. While we were out one night her house was robbed. When we came home we found it ransacked. I went to bed that night terrified that the thief would return. The terror was so real, I could almost hear him walking outside my window. I locked myself in the bathroom and spent the rest of the night in the tub. All of my senses were telling me that someone was in the house again. But my senses were wrong. The illusion caused me to behave irrationally and took the joy of the visit away.
All our fears are this way, until the truth comes into focus and we place our confidence in it.
My greatest fear was not having enough money to live on. How did faith conquer it? It’s a complicated story, so I’ll just share that I needed to believe two things: Who God is and what He promised. I did. I no longer have that fear. God is enough. His care and love are real. Jesus calls you this very day to a life that is not an illusion, but a reality: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10. Think of fear as the thief that has come to steal and kill and destroy. Jesus offers a life free of fear lived in His perfect love.
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8