“Fear Not”

And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, Lord, save me!” -Matthew 14:29-30

See if this scenario sounds familiar: You’re in the midst of a trial, but you’re believing right, talking right and acting right. Then circumstances pull your eyes off Jesus and onto the problem. Suddenly, your faith is replaced with fear, and you begin to lose ground.

That’s what happened to Peter. When he stepped out of the boat and began walking on the water, he was believing right, hearing right and acting right. But the minute Peter took his eyes off Jesus and looked back at the problem, his faith stopped working. His eyes started looking in the wrong direction, and fear entered in.

People deal with many types of fears—fears of accidents, of diseases, of death and so forth. I used to be afraid of everything. But then I got a revelation of Psalm 91. If I didn’t know Psalm 91 worked today, I would never get on a plane. But Janet and I travel all the time. We fly across the ocean several times a year, and I never have a problem. And I never will, because He’s given His angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways. (Ps. 91:11.)

Sometimes Christians make the mistake of just rebuking the fear without replacing it with anything. Jesus said, “Fear not; only believe.” (Mark 5:36.) In other words, He was saying, “If you want to believe God, you have to let your belief drive out the fear.”

You see, you can’t operate in fear and faith at the same time in the same situation. Now, some people say, “I’m believing God, but I’m a little afraid.” But that’s impossible. They’re either operating in faith or fear, but not both of them at the same time. When fear enters in, faith goes out.

How do you strengthen your belief and get rid of fear? Belief comes by hearing God’s Word. As you build your belief in God’s Word in a situation, the power in that Word will drive out the fear and enable you to keep your eyes where they belong---on Jesus.

CONFESSION:

God loves me so much. He saved me, heals me, guides me, protects me. He said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” So I boldly say, “The Lord is my helper and I will not fear!” (Heb. 13:5,6)

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999