Faith isn’t the absence of fear

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NLT)

 Faith is the substance of things hoped for. We wouldn’t be hoping for something if we already had it in our hands. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. We wouldn’t need evidence that something is real if we could see it with our eyes.
 Faith isn’t the absence of fear; faith is what overcomes fear. Jesus, the ultimate example of trusting His Father even unto death, still faced the fears. The Bible says He went through such struggles in the garden of Gethsemane that He sweat drops of blood! Faith isn’t the absence of fear, but the overcoming of fear with the truth. To overcome fear, you have to face it.
 It can be pretty scary when you’re in a bad situation and you can’t see any natural way out of the dilemma. But that’s when faith that is built on Jesus, rather than on what you think has to happen, really comes to the fore. You just have to keep believing and trusting.
 You may feel afraid of what you’re facing. You may not see anything you can do to fix the situation you’re in. But God’s intervention in your life isn’t based on your self-confidence. It’s based on your belief in Him and your trust in His unlimited power, goodness, and love. —Maria Fontaine [1]

 True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie." —A.W. Tozer

[1] Anchor What Faith Knows