From Fear to Faith

Romans 14:23 Anything not done in faith is sin.

That hit me as a strong statement this morning. Believing is a NOUN and a VERB. We can't just believe something in our mind, we have to act upon what we say we believe. 

One of the most challenging statements for me: even the demons believe in God but what does believing in God do for them? Does it get them greater access to God? No. Does it allow them to go from where they are to a better place? No. Is that what gives them eternal life? No. They have eternal destinies but it's not in a good place and it's not b/c they believe in God.

I'm lead to ask myself these questions, What is my faith saying to God about me? What does my faith look like to God and others? Is God speaking to me, am i listening and believing what i hear and then am i doing what he is leading me to do?

In my case, i often see that my sin, in regard to faith, is FEAR. Fear of this or fear of that. Some of us fear success, some fear failure, fear of relationships or fear of rejection. Often i fear i won't handle "this" right or i have fear of an unknown situation. I think so much of our fear boils down to one thing- PAIN. Could be physical pain, emotional pain, relational pain or some other. We all want to move from the place of pain to the place of comfort. Fear is so paralyzing. Yet to move forward in FAITH we must risk what we often don't see. We CAN move forward in FAITH because there is a bigger purpose for us to achieve. 

Lord, increase my faith. Help me to see those times Satan tries to convince me to play it safe when i need to jump out and take a risk or be obedient to what you are asking me to do. No matter how contradictory or opposite your steps for me may seem to be, compared to what i desire, let me act in truth faith and trust.