Faith VS Fear
One day, I sat wearily at my desk.
I love thinking and most of my actions originate from a single thought. I try my best to tune into positivity, but today, I decided to think about life.
I was bothered by the fact that life is too random. One moment you think you understand it, next it changes. In my journal of plans and dreams, called "Written in The Stars", there are plans I made in sheer confidence that they will come to pass exactly how I have written down. But with the passage of time, either see they don't come to pass or something completely different takes place. One day, I got very frustrated and sulked the whole day thinking, "So what is the point of this "making plans"? What if my future isn't as bright as they say it is? Plans for good? Will that happen?"
In an instant, thoughts of worry and doubt captured my mind, and it seemed like the worst was ahead of me. It was these thoughts that led to my weariness.
This continued for a couple of days, until one day, I decided to open my journal and I noticed giant words I wrote on a blank space on it, written: "Have faith."
What is faith? I asked. Curiously, I picked up my Bible.
Whenever I have a query or a moment of enlightenment, Scriptures come to mind leading me to where I can find more. Afterall, the Bible is the original source of wisdom and truth, so what better place to search? Scaling through the pages, the story of Jesus and his disciples crossing a lake came to mind.
In Mark 4:35 downwards, Jesus has started His ministry. Following the His groundbreaking Sermon on the Mount, He had a lot of followers, curiously following Him. One day, He decided to embark on a journey across the lake.
"Let us cross to the other side." He said to His disciples and they went.
Due to exhaustion, Jesus fell asleep on the boat and suddenly, a deadly storm began to brew.
The waves knocked the boat violently and they were in danger of a shipwreck. Fearing for their lives, the disciples shook Jesus awake and asked Him how could He still be sleeping in the midst of an unexpected, life-threatening situation like this one?
Standing up with authority, Jesus rebuked the waves, and instantly, the storm calmed.
Turning to them, He asked, "Why do you have so little faith?"
The disciples were too shocked to respond to that question. "Who is He?" they asked, "That the waves and wind obey Him?"
I paused after reading this because I had an argument. What did He mean "you had so little faith"? If I was in that boat, I would find it perfectly natural to be scared. But the revelation a friend of mine shared came to mind.
Did you notice that Jesus said, "Let us cross over to the other side" at the start of the journey?
He already notified that they will reach the other side, but He didn't tell them that they would encounter a storm. No matter how raging the storm was, He still said they would reach the other side.
Life has surprises for us, good and bad. And often times, life throws us in unexpected turns due to its random nature. But regardless, it takes faith to keep us afloat.
Faith is "a substance of things hoped for, evidence of things unseen" as Hebrews 11:1 puts it. Faith is the assurance that your hope for good to prevail will happen.
The opposite of faith is Fear (doubt is the product of it). Someone beautifully put it is way, "Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real."
The disciples had let the evidence of the storm distract them from the very fact that Jesus assured their arrival. They accepted defeat in a battle where they were clearly declared victors.
I shut the Bible because I saw a mirror reflection of us, as humanity.
The problem we often face is that we easily lost sight of faith and hope in uncertainty. Life is random; we can't change that. But we can change our attitude on how we face it. This passage of Scripture showed one powerful teaching: God's Word prevails over whatever may come our way.
"For all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes." says Romans 8:28, my favourite Scripture of all time.
This verse gives us a new kind of boldness. The end of the equation has already been decided: it will end well if we love the Lord and submit to His purpose.
So now we have a new confidence, a renewed hope. Whether in sunshine or in rain, each is used for us to grow. On the good days, appreciate the goodness. But the stormy days are not bad days; they are character building days for us to access another level of goodness.
A new hope arose in me that now I can arise to a storm and say, "Storms, you can't drown me. My lifeguard walks on water."
In life's randomness, which we cannot control, we can make the best use of what we have now. Appreciate what we have and enjoy the journey. The same breath we have for today can be used to complain or to bless, and the same 24 hours we have can be used to develop or depreciate ourselves. Bottom line is our attitude towards life.
This blog post may seem long and seemingly different from the others I have written earlier, but it has important lessons that will encourage you to change your mindset on uncertainty.
Reader, I know I have drummed this in your head for a long time, but you are destined for greatness. No storm or bad experience can overrule what God has declared in your life at whatever point it was spoken, whether at the beginning of the year or some time back. Notice that even the same waves that tried to drown the disciples became still at the mention of God's Word.
To end this blog post, here is a thought-provoking quote I found on Travis Greene's Facebook page:
"Faith is being led blindfolded into a light-filled room. Doubt is trying to find a door alone in a dark, obstacle-filled room without a torch."
You choose which one will fuel your thoughts.
Choose Faith.
Think Different.
Guide. Light. Inspire
I love thinking and most of my actions originate from a single thought. I try my best to tune into positivity, but today, I decided to think about life.
I was bothered by the fact that life is too random. One moment you think you understand it, next it changes. In my journal of plans and dreams, called "Written in The Stars", there are plans I made in sheer confidence that they will come to pass exactly how I have written down. But with the passage of time, either see they don't come to pass or something completely different takes place. One day, I got very frustrated and sulked the whole day thinking, "So what is the point of this "making plans"? What if my future isn't as bright as they say it is? Plans for good? Will that happen?"
In an instant, thoughts of worry and doubt captured my mind, and it seemed like the worst was ahead of me. It was these thoughts that led to my weariness.
This continued for a couple of days, until one day, I decided to open my journal and I noticed giant words I wrote on a blank space on it, written: "Have faith."
What is faith? I asked. Curiously, I picked up my Bible.
Whenever I have a query or a moment of enlightenment, Scriptures come to mind leading me to where I can find more. Afterall, the Bible is the original source of wisdom and truth, so what better place to search? Scaling through the pages, the story of Jesus and his disciples crossing a lake came to mind.
In Mark 4:35 downwards, Jesus has started His ministry. Following the His groundbreaking Sermon on the Mount, He had a lot of followers, curiously following Him. One day, He decided to embark on a journey across the lake.
"Let us cross to the other side." He said to His disciples and they went.
Due to exhaustion, Jesus fell asleep on the boat and suddenly, a deadly storm began to brew.
The waves knocked the boat violently and they were in danger of a shipwreck. Fearing for their lives, the disciples shook Jesus awake and asked Him how could He still be sleeping in the midst of an unexpected, life-threatening situation like this one?
Standing up with authority, Jesus rebuked the waves, and instantly, the storm calmed.
Turning to them, He asked, "Why do you have so little faith?"
The disciples were too shocked to respond to that question. "Who is He?" they asked, "That the waves and wind obey Him?"
I paused after reading this because I had an argument. What did He mean "you had so little faith"? If I was in that boat, I would find it perfectly natural to be scared. But the revelation a friend of mine shared came to mind.
Did you notice that Jesus said, "Let us cross over to the other side" at the start of the journey?
He already notified that they will reach the other side, but He didn't tell them that they would encounter a storm. No matter how raging the storm was, He still said they would reach the other side.
Life has surprises for us, good and bad. And often times, life throws us in unexpected turns due to its random nature. But regardless, it takes faith to keep us afloat.
Faith is "a substance of things hoped for, evidence of things unseen" as Hebrews 11:1 puts it. Faith is the assurance that your hope for good to prevail will happen.
The opposite of faith is Fear (doubt is the product of it). Someone beautifully put it is way, "Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real."
The disciples had let the evidence of the storm distract them from the very fact that Jesus assured their arrival. They accepted defeat in a battle where they were clearly declared victors.
I shut the Bible because I saw a mirror reflection of us, as humanity.
The problem we often face is that we easily lost sight of faith and hope in uncertainty. Life is random; we can't change that. But we can change our attitude on how we face it. This passage of Scripture showed one powerful teaching: God's Word prevails over whatever may come our way.
"For all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes." says Romans 8:28, my favourite Scripture of all time.
This verse gives us a new kind of boldness. The end of the equation has already been decided: it will end well if we love the Lord and submit to His purpose.
So now we have a new confidence, a renewed hope. Whether in sunshine or in rain, each is used for us to grow. On the good days, appreciate the goodness. But the stormy days are not bad days; they are character building days for us to access another level of goodness.
A new hope arose in me that now I can arise to a storm and say, "Storms, you can't drown me. My lifeguard walks on water."
In life's randomness, which we cannot control, we can make the best use of what we have now. Appreciate what we have and enjoy the journey. The same breath we have for today can be used to complain or to bless, and the same 24 hours we have can be used to develop or depreciate ourselves. Bottom line is our attitude towards life.
This blog post may seem long and seemingly different from the others I have written earlier, but it has important lessons that will encourage you to change your mindset on uncertainty.
Reader, I know I have drummed this in your head for a long time, but you are destined for greatness. No storm or bad experience can overrule what God has declared in your life at whatever point it was spoken, whether at the beginning of the year or some time back. Notice that even the same waves that tried to drown the disciples became still at the mention of God's Word.
To end this blog post, here is a thought-provoking quote I found on Travis Greene's Facebook page:
"Faith is being led blindfolded into a light-filled room. Doubt is trying to find a door alone in a dark, obstacle-filled room without a torch."
You choose which one will fuel your thoughts.
Choose Faith.
Think Different.
Guide. Light. Inspire
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