Faith Trumps Fear

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 NIV

On April 27th, I received my acceptance letter into the grad school I applied to. I was so excited. I knew that God had called me there. It had been a difficult process for me, though. I had to take a ton of tests and pay the last minute registration fees just to get my application in on time. Yet, during the whole process, I held on to the hope and promise that God would come through, and He did.
      How quickly we forget, though.
      I met with my adviser earlier this week and he was telling me the things I needed to do in order to graduate in two years. More tests, paperwork, and applications. It got me pretty nervous, but not as much as trying to figure out how I would pay for all this. More tuition, books, test fees, and background checks. I could see the amount going up and it freaked me out. It didn’t help that after the meeting I registered for summer school and found out I have to pay a late registration fee because it starts in 9 days (which means it would be a huge risk to order my textbooks online because I may not get them in time-so I had to pay the high used books price at the school bookstore).
      As I took care of the loan paperwork last night, I get more anxious and exhausted. I went to bed feeling panicked and nauseated despite my effort not to worry. I kept trying to remind myself to stay focused on the fact that if God brought me here, He would move to keep me here.
      I begged God for peace of mind before I went to sleep.
      I woke up thinking about the total amount in loans I would graduate with, but then I felt Him assure me. He is going to meet me I just need to keep going until I reach the point where we’re supposed to meet up. He promised He’d be there. If I quit because of fear, then I’ll never see Him where I was meant to in this season. He is coming, so I have to keep moving by faith.
      I could feel the questions start to creep up again, though: Yeah, but when will He come? Will my faith get tested like Job’s? I don’t want to have to suffer and lose a lot. ‘~’
      He saw me trying not to freak out and brought me the peace I asked for. He had one of my mentors randomly (not for God, of course) text me Isaiah 41:10, which says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
      [sigh  <3 ] He has me in this. I know it. I think the reason we can be afraid anyway, though, is because it’s unseen by us how He will move. We limit Him by our limitations (time, resources, etc.), but He created everything. It all belongs to Him. He has all the resources in the world and more!
      We need to remember the Who behind our faith. I don’t believe in “blind faith.” I can clearly see the One my faith is in.
      We must have faith in His love for us and in His character. He never changes. He’s not fickle. This alone should give us confidence to keep going and wait for Him to come through in His promises.
      Hebrews 10:35-36 says, “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
      Faith overshadows fear. It’s bigger in all respects, yet we allow fear to keep us from moving forward as though it is greater. Let your faith give you a boost so that you can step over your fears.
      The secret to having faith and keeping your confidence is focusing on Him, not the circumstance. You give whatever you focus on the most power. This isn’t to say that God loses power, you just don’t give Him the chance to use it because you’re too busy trying to eliminate the situations where He wants to show it to you (and use it on your behalf).