Christian Living

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Your quality of life depends on what you believe
By Chaplain Dan Langerock

Is your life filled with fear? What if I get cancer? Will the stock market tumble again? What will I do if I get laid off from my job? There are many things you can worry about if you allow that mindset to dominate your thinking. Let’s look at how to build faith in our lives instead:

What do you believe about God? Many people believe there is a God, but try writing down what you believe about Him for your own reference. Is He weak, all-powerful, caring, distant, wise, etc? Now that you have this list of attributes, compare them to how you react when trouble comes your way. Do you try to figure it out for yourself, pray about it and leave it there—or somewhere in-between these two? What you believe about God will help determine your quality of life, and ultimately whether you have peace of mind in the midst of turmoil.

Imagine a scale with your fears on one side and your faith in God on the other. What triggers your fear reaction: the news, conversation with others, your own thinking patterns, etc.? You cannot have peace and fear at the same time. You must choose what you believe more, the fears in your life or what God has promised.

If you choose fear, then you will be uneasy, living a life of torment. Fear will affect your health eventually-=it is a proven fact. Is this what you want to look forward to in your life? There is an alternative.

God’s promises are numerous and cover every facet of your life if you will search them out. For example: “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and of power and of a sound mind.”. II Timothy 1:7 (KJV) So you know by this promise that if you are fearing something in your life, God did not given it to you. He wants you to have a sound mind, and that cannot be true if you choose to fear.

Get yourself a good concordance and search out His promises for your life. Write them down where you can get to them easily when fear strikes. Put them in your pocket or purse, stick them on the refrigerator, memorize them---whatever it takes to tip the scale toward faith instead of fear.

When you feel fear trying to grab you, consciously remember God’s power in your behalf instead of the circumstances vying for your attention. Make a list of what God has done for you in the past and keep it handy so you can see the results of faith earlier in your life. God helped you back then, so He will help you now. Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever”. (NIV)

There are always going to be times when fear tries to grab our attention. We must make the choice to have faith in God instead of giving in to the circumstances that surround us. There are many examples in the Bible of those who did trust God despite what was going on around them: Abraham trusted God to give him a child despite his advanced age. Elisha trusted God to deliver him from an army surrounding his home. Jonathan trusted God to defeat the Philistine army through his faith. David trusted God to keep him safe from Saul despite the odds.

The question for your life now is whether you will believe God to deliver you from your circumstances or will you continue to fear as you have been doing? God wants to help you in your life but it not going to happen unless you make the choice to accept God’s peace and keep it at all costs. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (NIV) Will you accept His peace in your life today?

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