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And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
Hebrews 11: 32-34

Faith makes the impossible possible; when we believe deeply in something we can do things that are amazing. Consider these two stories:

April 9, 1982: Anthony Cavallo, a teenager, was working on the rear suspension of his 64 Impala. As he removed the rear suspension spring the jack slipped & he was pinned between the rear wheel & the fender. From the window his mom Angela, 5’8”, ran and lifted the corner of the 3,800 lb car a few inches off the ground for 5 minutes until help from the neighbors came.

Feb 21, 2006: Lydia, a 41-year-old mom known as “tiny” because of her small stature (5 feet tall and 90 lbs), was at a youth center in Canada with her 3 kids. Her 7-year-old boy was outside playing hockey when she noticed a polar bear eyeing the kids. She ran to the defense of her son & ended up on the ground with this polar bear wrestling & kicking. A worker heard the commotion & fired 3 warning shots from his rifle in the air to startle the bear. However, the bear moved towards the man and it took 4 shots to put the 700 lb bear down, but Lydia survived without any major injuries to tell the story.

Love made these women fearless parents; they loved their children so much they would face any threat and had the power to conquer anything. We will become fearless when we love God and love the people he has put in our lives enough to face any obstacle.

So how to develop a fearless faith?

1. Know Thy Enemy: Fear

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:14-16 NIV

Fear is enslaving. We each have areas of our lives where we are enslaved to fear, such as:

  • Fear of failing
  • Fear of exposure
  • Fear of being alone.

What areas of your life does fear have you enslaved? Identifying these areas is the first step to overcoming them!

2. Change your lens (The Lens of Fear vs. The Lens of Faith)

Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’
Joshua 14:6-9

Do you see your life through the lens of fear or the lens of faith? Caleb and all the men with him saw the same situation, but they perceived it differently. Caleb saw the situation with faith, the other men saw it with fear.

Many times we think our circumstances determine whether or not we have faith. In some circumstances we think it is impossible to have faith, but that is not true. Caleb had convictions about what God could do, and that gave him faith instead of fear.

3. Choose to love (Love Makes Us Fearless)

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
1 John 3:16

The motivation to become fearless is love. You can’t think about who you need to become without thinking about who you are suppose to love. Love gives us the courage to do whatever it takes to help someone else or to stop doing things that hurt someone else.

 

Written by

Brian Nitta

Before Brian was a minister for the Bay Area Christian Church, he was a world class judo competitor from San Jose State University. His experiences as a fighter and as a counselor have given him a unique perspective that he brings to his contributions to Inspire.