The Opposite of Faith

recommended reading Matthew 8:23-27

In grammar school language studies we learned about opposites. Some were simple to understand like directions (up versus down), but others had shades of meaning that required more careful thinking (nice versus not-nice). When we come to opposites in the spiritual life, we move even further away from simple meanings. For instance, what is the opposite of faith? The easy answer is "unbelief." If we have faith, we believe; if we don't have faith, we don't believe.

But when Jesus called His disciples to account for their lack of faith, He suggested the opposite was fear instead of unbelief: "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" Why is fear the opposite of faith? In the setting where Jesus chastised His disciples, the issue at hand was the future. They were in the middle of a storm on the Sea of Galilee and the disciples didn't think they would make it to shore. So when we approach the future we can approach it one of two ways: with faith or with fear.

If you are in the midst of a storm and concerned about the future, let your perspective be the opposite that of the disciples. Choose to have faith in Christ to see you through.

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of faith is the end of anxiety. George Muller

 Freedom and Faith

Recommended Reading
Numbers 13:1-33

Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land .... the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.
Numbers 14:9

In 1991, Michigan's Timid Motorist Program assisted 830 drivers across the Mackinac Bridge that is five miles long and 200 feet high. The drivers were so scared of heights that they couldn't drive their own cars. The same year, more than a thousand motorists received assistance at Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Bridge—also 200 feet high and four miles long.

In spite of their destination being in plain sight and a history of the bridges being safe, the drivers were paralyzed by fear. The same thing happened to the nation of Israel when they were ready to enter the Promised Land. The land was in plain sight, and they had a history of God meeting their needs; but only three people in the entire nation were willing to exercise their faith and enter the land: Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. The rest said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we" (Numbers 13:31). That generation of Israelites never reached their destination. Instead, their fear paralyzed them in the wilderness where they died.

If you can see your destination and have experienced God's faithfulness in the past, don't let fear destroy your freedom.

It is a blessed fear which drives us to trust.
Charles Spurgeon

courtesy of turning point ministries