FAITH COMES BY HEARING - PART 1
In everyday of your life, the opportunity to subscribe to faith or fear will always present itself, and you are the one to decide which one will be sustained. For any decision you make with any of them, there is an end result. It's either a positive or a negative outcome. However, when faced with any situation, what you consistently feed on, will determine whether faith or fear will prevail.
Romans 10:17 New Living Translation (NLT) 'So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.'
Demonstrating faith or fear largely depends on what you hear. In all you do, its either you are walking in faith or in fear. Faith is acting by courage or demonstrating a positive behaviour in any situation or environment, while fear is believing in the negative and acting under its influence in any given situation or environment. If you are likely to focus on fears while encountering life's situations, then chances are - you have formed the habit of hearing and absorbing negative information and entertaining bad news easily.
If you continue to focus on fears and keep entertaining them, you are giving in to their influence and over time, fear will increase and dominate your mind. Then it will yield negative outcomes for you. 'How do I deal with fear?', you ask. First, you can't expect fear to suddenly disappear overnight, if you usually express it, because its a product of your hearing, rooted in your belief system. To deal with fear and overcome its established pattern, you must work on your belief system by addressing what you've been listening to, reading, hearing and possibly, consider doing something about the circle and environment you've always been exposed to.
Stop giving in to gossips. Don't give them your time and energy. Don't always feed on negative news reports, or horror films. Focus on building your faith every single day. How? By feeding your mind with the Word of God, according to our referenced verse. The more time and energy you devote to building your faith, the stronger your faith will grow. Anytime you feel afraid about doing the right things that count, don't subscribe to such feeling of fear, rather do or act on those things anyway, disregarding the awkward feeling. As you do, you reprogram your attitude for a positive outcome.
No matter how strong a fear may have a hold on you, it can be overcome by hearing God's Word. The Word of God is the ultimate faith-builder. And fear only starts by functioning in the mind, before it finds its expression in your actions or is displayed in situations. That same mind can only be renewed by God's Word. Therefore, Romans 12:2 is the key to overcoming fear. And it reads, 'Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God' (NKJV).
Scripture Reading - Hebrews 10:38-39; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Hebrews 11:1; James 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:6-7.
Guided Prayer: Thank you Father for your Word, which produces faith in my life as I place my trust and dependence on you always. With the help of today's knowledge, I block the negative impacts and adverse influences of fear, by guarding my heart, my mind and myself from misleading thoughts, gloomy news, and wrong company. I choose to press on in faith day by day, and keep fear at far distance by feeding my heart with your Word of grace. My life's actions are responses based on the revelation and realities of the Word; thus, I live triumphantly over evil news and negativities of this world, in Jesus' Name, Amen.
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