Vital signs- Friday, October 9th, 2020

Here’s some great news.

If you are a fearful person, you have the potential to be a person of great faith!

Fear and faith aren’t opposites. Fear is actually a catalyst for greater faith. While fear is the belief that bad things are going to happen, faith is believing that “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

God's perfect love drives out fear. (1 John 4:18) Faith is confidence in God’s love, a love that offers security, connection, and control/empowerment. The good news is, even when we don’t feel like we have faith, God is faithful.

We build our faith by remembering God’s faithfulness in the past. We all have stories of times where we know God took care of us. Focus on those moments, rather than all that could go wrong.

We also build our faith by moving forward, in spite of our fear. Sometimes we have to "just do it", even while we're still afraid- trusting that God will care for us.

Read through today’s verse again. Which of the things the Apostle Paul mentions are making you afraid today – death, the present, the future? Acknowledge you’re afraid and then remember a time in the past when God came through for you in that specific area.

Focus on God's faithfulness! God didn’t bring you this far to abandon you or forget you. He’s still with you. He still has an amazing plan for your life. So be courageous, and hold onto the faith you have in His goodness.