Faith is not the absence of fear, it’s moving forward in spite of fear. The Lord never promises to take away our feelings of fright, but He assures us that He’ll be with us in the midst of them. When He tells us not to be afraid, He’s not asking us to pretend to be stronger than we are, He’s simply inviting us to trust His power as we move ahead. For instance, some of you reading this might have a fear of flying. No matter how many people tell you that it’s safe, you still get jittery when you fasten your seatbelt and hear the engines roaring. Although your chances of being in a plane crash are one out of eleven million, your feelings are real, and they’re okay provided that they don’t stop you. You still need to get on that plane because you have somewhere to go. In fact, this is true with nearly any form of anxiety we face. Most often, our greatest obstacle is walking through the doorway that leads to the thing we most fear, and once we’re there, we find a fresh infusion of faith. God always shows up in the fire, and He is waiting with a perfectly-fitted measure of love whenever we take a leap and surrender our worry to His wisdom. As we trust Him to help, He empowers us to accomplish whatever He’s called us to, regardless of how far off and unreachable it seems.

My friend, don’t let fear keep you from acting in faith, or you may miss seeing the God of the impossible go to work. When you resolve to face hard things afraid, He’ll carry your soul on the waves of divine power and sustain your spirit on the currents of amazing grace. Your Savior is ready to do great and unsearchable things through your surrendered life, and as you take His hand and walk into the storm, He’ll meet you there in the fullness of His mighty strength!