Feed Fear or Faith

Year 6-Day 26:Today, I am grateful we can choose to feed fear or faith. 

"Feed your fears and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will starve." -Max Lucado

At the end of the week, I can always use a good Max Lucado quote. 

This quote immediately set my mind to thinking about an old fashioned scale. The kind of scale that you add and subtract to each side until it is balanced. 

Often, the thought of balanced scales is a considered positive. Not this time. We definitely want our faith side to be heavy. In fact, we want to be so loaded down with faith, that the scale is firmly tipped and weighed down by faith and fears are lifted away. Any way you slice it... fear is the opposite of faith. 

How many times do we hang out with a "balanced scale" of the two, cheating ourselves of the comfort of being anchored by faith? I know, I do. I speak "trust" but live "worry". It is all part of being human. Still, I cling to the promise of a God who knows the intimate details of our lives, and longs for us to trust him. Matthew 6:25-34 in the "The Message" brings it to life in today's language. Kind of long but good. 

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds."

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." 

Yes... that was long, but my heart never ceases to need this reminder. I need the reminder that he savors attending to our tiniest needs and the details of our life when we fully tip our scale to faith. I know. I've been there. And, I've known what happens when in fear, I squeeze him out forcing things to be my way. His way is always better. 

Nothing like a little encouragement... and a little challenge... all rolled into one. He is the Lion of Judah... we can be fearless. As CS Lewis wrote, "He is not safe, but he is good."

Today, I am grateful we can choose to feed fear or faith.