In closing this series of articles on FAITH, let me direct your thoughts to some of the main enemies of faith and how they can be overcome.
Ignorance. You cannot believe a promise until you hear it and have time to contemplate it. Much unbelief in the world today rises out of the fact that people just don't know what the Bible says. The remedy for this is study, meditation, prayer and consideration of the Word.
Unbelief. This is an intentional sinful choice to not believe what God has said to mankind. It is usually motivated by pride, rebellion and ignorance. The remedy for this is to humble oneself, change one's mind, to be open minded, to choose to believe. Prayer is very effective in destroying the power of unbelief, because it aids in humbling ourselves and in removing our distractions to hearing the Word of God. Prayer, along with personal study and the right attitude, can help us focus on communicating with God. Prayer will make spiritual things more vital to us, thereby tearing down the barriers of unbelief.
Fear. Fear is a negative emotion based on the real expectation of bad things to come. It is rooted in anxiety and a lack of trust in God's love and care for us. Perfect love casts out fear. (1John 4:18). God is perfect love. Therefore by seeking God, His presence and the fullness of the Holy Spirit we will be set free from debilitating anxiety and fear. When we are conscious of God's power it is very easy to be courageous and bold. We expect success when we are consciously full of God and know that we are doing what He is telling us to do.
To overcome fear we must always focus on God, and not the circumstances and situations of life, which could cause us to be frozen by fears believing that God is not with us. Peter, while walking on the water, began looking to the wind and the waves, and was overcome by fear which paralyzed his faith and caused him to sink. He needed to focus intently on Jesus. God says, "Fear not, FOR I AM WITH YOU." (Isaiah. 43:5). God gives us a reason not to fear, and a commandment. To fear anyone or anything except the Lord is a sin. We can overcome this sin by submitting and yielding to the Holy Spirit’s leading and working in our lives. Also, and very important, we must forgive all men if we want to be delivered from this form of torment. (Matthew 18:34, I John 4:18)
Doubt. Doubt is an enemy of faith because it speaks with a voice that challenges the truth or the reliability of what we should be trusting and believing. To overcome doubt we must immerse ourselves in the Word of God, meditating deeply and repetitively on it. Being in the Word should be a daily practice, the most constant essential habit in our lives. It should be no less important to us than eating physical food to live. The Bible, God’s Word, is the source of our spiritual life. Doubt is pretty clear evidence of an unconsecrated heart and mind. An unchanged heart and mind. Doubt is evidence of a lack of devotion to God, His purposes and His source of instruction... the Bible. Doubt, like fear, torments us at our core. We must forgive others and give our whole hearts to God. We can’t be part of this world and serve God... we can’t serve two masters.
We must stop listening to the voices of our carnal mind, conditioned by the things and desires of the world to resist God. This is a decision, a choice. It helps to hear the testimonies of others to overcome personal doubt. However, doubt will never be fully overcome until we treat the Bible as God's voice TO US, and reject all other murmuring.
Discouragement. Sometimes we feel discouraged because of physical or emotional weakness or tiredness. We may be disappointed by the behavior of other Christians. We may be discouraged by the persecution of others, even from within our own families. Perhaps we have waited, and waited for what may or may not be God's answer to our prayers and pleadings, and we grow impatient. Many Christians at some time in their life become disappointed and frustrated with God. Satan uses discouragement to weaken and if possible, destroy our faith. To overcome discouragement we must make a decision to seek and use God’s strength, to be strong (Hebrews 12:12; Ephesians 6:10) in the Lord.
We must want to be strong and stop making excuses for our weakness and failure. We must consider God's faithfulness to us in the past, even through difficulties (Hebrews 10:32-34). We must rededicate ourselves to God's Word, to thankfulness, to prayer and to the leading by the indwelling Holy Spirit. We need to learn to obey the Spirit in small things. Sometimes even great men of God like Elijah were discouraged. At one time, even after a great victory, he ran away from Jezebel, in fear. God restored Elijah through the ministry of angels, through his voice, and by getting him occupied in new missions for God, restoring his trust, confidence and renewing the promise of hope.
The Love of Praise. When you are more interested in what people - even Christian people - think of you, more than what God thinks of you, according to Jesus, you won’t be able to truly experience a deep, growing and sustaining faith in Him. Why? Because God’s priorities and man’s are different. Jesus said, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44)
To overcome this, you must cultivate a personal relationship with God through prayer and obedience. You must allow your old nature to be weakened as you say yes to God and no to the desires for seeking praise and recognition from men. Humble yourselves in every way, every day, before the living God. See the “Cross” in every thing and be reminded of Jesus and what he did for you.
God is invites all of us to put our faith in action in many ways. True sustaining faith will lead us to seek Him, to pray, to love one another and to walk with the Holy Spirit every day of our lives. FAITH conquers all!
