Faith is a vital aspect of Christian character. It represents that we have firm confidence in the core components of being a believer that we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). More specifically, we can rest our faith in God to help us exercise continuous expectations about His promises coming to pass. Furthermore, we can count on God and rely on His promises, provision, and presence.
Even when adversity comes knocking at our front door, we remain confident that God will help us to persevere over any storm life might throw in our direction. Over time we come to the realization that God never lets us down. On the contrary, He has a perfect track record that showcases a level of love beyond our capacity to fathom with our finite minds.
Who better to trust with everything than the One who knows us better than we know ourselves? After all, He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere at all times). Add to these realities that God has His children’s best interests at heart in light of eternity. It should be intuitive at this point for us to realize that there is no one better in the universe to rest our faith and surrender our fears and anxieties. As such, we must rest assured that He always faithfully protects and guides us in the direction that best suits His perfect will and our well-being.
Another advantage of placing our complete faith in God is experiencing His peace. Sometimes we attempt to take things into our hands rather than pray for God’s help. These are not mutually exclusive endeavors. In many cases, praying and taking action would be wise. However, we overestimate our influence on our immediate circumstances and underestimate the power of prayer. Sometimes the best course of action is to surrender something outside our control to God in prayer and rest in His sovereignty (John 16:33). When the situation calls for it, this demonstrates our faith in God to handle our problem. Furthermore, we welcome His peace to offer us the antidote to our burdensome worries (Philippians 4:6, Romans 5:1).
As believers, God has created us in His image (Genesis 1:27). Each of us is an ambassador of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are also friends of God rather than at enmity with Him when we walk in obedience to His Word (John 15:15)! Our ultimate purpose is to bring God glory (1 Corinthians 6:20, Isaiah 43:7). The execution of fulfilling our calling varies from person to person. Still, all believers are a part of His plans for us as we are members of the body of believers serving different roles that complement one another (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). When we have faith in these elements of our foundation and purpose, it should boost our confidence and develop our courage.
The Bible provides a steady supply of strength that reminds us of God’s faithfulness and love in the lives of believers before us. Knowing that flawed men and women, just like you and I, were used by God for the fulfillment of monumental achievements in the eyes of God should increase our faith and eliminate our worries. For example, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob parted the Red Sea to save His people under the leadership of Moses (Exodus 14:26-29), protected Daniel from being devoured in the lion’s den (Daniel 6:23), and delivered Shadrack, Meschac, and Abed-Nego from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:19-25). So likewise, God is with His children today as with our ancestors (Romans 8:31-39).
If we reflect on our lives, we can refer to God’s consistent protection, provision, and providence to remember his unfailing reliability (Philippians 4:19). Do not forget the numerous times you, your family, or friends prayed, and God was faithful. It may not have always agreed with our perspective or timing, but often we are privileged to take notice that His timing was infinitely superior anyway (1 John 5:14-15). After all, it would be a tragedy if God gave us a blessing that we were not yet prepared to receive due to a lack of character development, preparedness, or appreciation.
Instead, He lovingly defers those blessings to the correct time after we have learned to handle them and experienced the contrast of not having them so that we might rightfully understand how outstanding the opportunity truly is (Proverbs 13:12). If we are honest with ourselves, some of God’s most excellent answers to prayer are those He lovingly does not provide for us because He knows what we need better than we do. In those cases, we should aspire to be equally thankful even when we do not understand why the door closed unexpectedly, and things did not pan out in the direction we foresaw.
The final aspect of faithfulness that carries one of the most remarkable benefits to all of us is God’s gift of community with fellow believers (Hebrews 10:25, 1 Thessalonians 5:11). God has given each of us a consistent desire to pursue fellowship with like-minded believers. As a result, not only do we receive benefits such as encouragement, accountability, and support from such circles, but we are also enabled to invest our time, energy, and effort in being there for others.
There may be seasons where we require one end more than another, but in their time, we all need to lean on one another the way God designed it to be. When we share our struggles, others can relate, offer advice, or pray for us. Likewise, we can share testimonies in our lives where God came through for us, and God’s answers to our prayers can strengthen the faith of our Christian peers (2 Timothy 1:8). Such actions can alleviate our fears and anxieties by focusing on God’s work rather than overthinking, which may lead to fear or anxiety.
Some worries and concerns should not be on our radar because they are far less of an issue than we make them out to be and often do not even materialize (Matthew 6:31-34). Instead of spending time in our heads about such circumstances, we are often better suited to pouring into the lives of others. Focusing outside ourselves and being there for other believers may be just what the doctor ordered to offer us a renewed perspective.
May God bless each of us with a desire to pursue Him and His will wholeheartedly (Jeremiah 29:13). Let us not allow the whims of fear or anxiety dictate our actions in life. Instead, let us build one another up in faith, knowing that God will never abandon or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6). We can trust Him to be there when life throws us more than we can handle. Submit your cares and worries to Him, rest in His sovereignty, and pursue the calling He instills in your heart to answer (1 Peter 5:7). There is no better place to be than at the center of God’s will for your life.
