Fearless Faith

Many scholars say it is irresponsible to live life with fearless faith. Prudence would dictate, they say, in only taking calculated risks for God. In essence they would promote that we plan the work and then work the plan. This is logical, safe, predictable, and seldom pushes us past our comfort zone.

Fearless faith means living life with no fears, no cowardice, and willing to obey God regardless of the risk or how far out of the comfort zone you get pushed. I feel like I have lived most of my ministry outside my comfort zone. The few times I have grown comfortable and settled God pushed me further out on the limb again and again.

Today, as I sit here pondering fearless faith, I want to look at this from two perspective. First, fear comes from our perspective. We look at the odds. We calculate the downside if things go wrong. We fear losing those things in life that make us more comfortable. We consider our reputations and what people will think if we really follow through on what we consider to be a God prompting.

Fear can paralyze us in our tracks. There are multiple times in the life of follower of Jesus when a choice has to be made. Do we trust or doubt? Do we obey or disobey? Do we push past our fears or retreat to security? Here is the thing. Fear rules the lives of many Christ followers. Here is what we read in the Bible about fear.

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." [Is 41:10]

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." [Josh 1:9]

"For God gave us not a spirit of fear but of power, love, and self control." [II Tim 1:7]

There is much more in the Bible that addresses fear. We are prone to cowardice when it comes to following Christ. We are prone to look for the easy path. We want the routine, safe, predictable, and yes again I will say SAFE route. We fill our minds with doubts. Here is the problem. This kind of living has produced mamby and pamby Christians. Our churches are not filled with courageous and confident servants of God. Many really do not believe God will come through. They have not witnessed this first hand.

The Bible is filled with people who plunged ahead in obedience trusting God with the outcome. Noah risked his reputation to build the ark. Abraham left his ancestral home to follow God to a destination God had not even shown him yet. He still packed up his wife and moved without knowing where he was going. Moses faced down the most powerful ruler of his day to see Israel delivered. Moses followed God in some scary places and over and over again he saw God save the day. Joshua fearlessly trusted God to give Israel the promise land. Elijah stared down eight hundred and fifty false prophets while the nation watched to see who would prevail, Baal or Jehovah. David ran to fight Goliath. Gideon tore down the town idols and though outnumbered believed God for the victory later on in battle. Mary fearlessly trusted God despite the ridicule she had to endure being pregnant out of wedlock. Peter fearlessly trusted Jesus when he stepped out of the boat. He also fearlessly preached the gospel though warned and persecuted in the book of Acts. Stephen fearlessly trusted God even when being pummeled with stones. He did not cave in even to his last breath. I could go on and on.

Those people were not cowards. They laid it all on the line. The disciples left their nets to follow Jesus to become fishers of men. [Mark 1:16-17] Paul risked his life repeatedly preaching. He at one point wrote, "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." [Acts 20:24]

God is not producing those fearful thoughts that make us want to pull back from following Him. Many many people have lived most of their lives frozen in fear. They do not give when God prompts for fear they will run out of money. They do not go on the mission trip for fear they will be harmed. They do not witness for fear of being rejected. They do not live by faith for fear God will fail. Therefore they worship and serve a God they do not trust. How can you devote your life to serve a God you cannot trust will come through all the time and every time.

Fearless faith does not mean that fears do not surface. When God called me to walk away from FBC Seminole to start a church I lay prostrate in my living room floor in west Texas filled with raw terror. I told God I did not want to do it. I wept puddles in the carpet that Saturday afternoon. When I got up I knew two things. I knew it was truly God calling me and I knew I had to obey. I set my face like flint and determined no matter what I would follow God.

A few days later I resigned in my first step of faith. A couple of weeks after that I drove out of Seminole not knowing what salary I would be paid, how many were truly on board starting the new church, or when I would see Brenda and the three younger boys again. I drove out of town with a few hundred dollars cash. I determined I would not tell anyone my needs including Brenda. When I put my tithe in Faith Community Church that first Sunday I did so with a prayer trusting God to provide for me for the funds were running low. I received a check in the mail for $500 that very same week. I would see God show Himself as a faithful provider through my pastor and through may different people.

Over and over again in those first six months God would lead someone to send money to us at the right time. We have not gone without and it has been a year since I walked away from a great church, a great home, great friends, and a great salary all in fearless faith to follow God's call. What I can tell you is that God has come through ever time for the Edwards family and for Faith Community Church. Like the old hymn states, "All I have needed Thy hand has provided. Great is Thy faithfulness."

Numerous times over the past year I had to face my fears. Many times I questioned whether the church would really make it. Attendance climbed and dipped. The offerings dipped dramatically. Several times I felt like a fool for leaving Seminole and wept uncontrollably in that RV home I lived in for the first three months. All of those fears and doubts did come from God. They were all one sided. God saw it all. He saw the trials and His solutions. He saw the needs and His provision. He saw my despair and shored up my faith. God repeatedly made a way where there seemed to be no way.

That is the second point I want to focus on. In this equation God is not fearful. He is the most powerful, faithful, resourced, and fearless being in the universe. God exudes confidence. No mountain is a match for Him. No adversary can stand against Him. No problem is impossible with Him. No fear is greater than His faithfulness. When God calls He already has purposed how He will bring about what He desires. Fear is one sided in this equation. It only looks risky to us. God knows what He will do. If we could see what He sees and know what He knows we would not be afraid. This is where faith comes in.

Bottom line. God can be trusted. He is dependable, reliable, and worthy of all our trust. We can follow Him confidently knowing that He will never leave us or forsake us. I am not writing theory. I have and still am living this. One year ago I drove out of Seminole. In that time God could have failed me. I had plenty of fears. What has God done to provide for my family? God gave Brenda a job for a great employer right here in Paradise within days of her moving. The church finances grew enough where the church rented the Edwards family a house so we could all live together. Numerous times God has called someone to send us provision when we have needed it. Repeatedly our meals have been bought at local cafes. God provided and is still providing for me to start a mowing business and to purchase a zero turn radius mower and a trailer to haul it. God has sent yard after yard our way. We started with nothing and now have several yards to keep us busy and provide for the boys. God provided Taylor with a great deal on a truck we were able to purchase. We continually pray for God to move to pay off the remaining debt on it. God opened doors for Faith Community to meet in the schools for eleven months and now has provided us adequate lease space. For ten months I did not have an office. God has provided a place for me to meet with Him to pray, study, and to write. FBC Seminole gave me my Macbook computer I am writing this on when I left. God has come through every step of the way.

I would not have experienced any of this if I had chosen the safe risk free route. Only as I have followed God's promptings with fearless faith have I discovered more of His faithfulness and seen Him work in power. God is greater than our fears. The call for all of us is trust Him confidently and to obey His promptings. I am pretty sure God will not call most of you to pack up and to move like He did Abraham or my family. I am also confident He will call some of you to do that though. What will you do? Fear or faith? Trust or doubt? Follow or resist? The choice is yours. Follow Him fearlessly.