If we do not make an entry into a life of faith, we will discover there are so many things we can be afraid of. We will fear crime, sickness, failure and the future. The list goes on and on. Fear will paralyze and destroy. Just look at the churches and communities that say they are afraid to help the homeless in their neighborhoods because they are afraid it will bring in more homeless people.

Daily we are presented with the choice of whether we are going to let fear or faith rule our lives. If we are going to make an entry into a life of faith rather than fear, then we need to know how faith develops. Romans 10:17 tells us “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.”

The first letter in spelling out the word “entry” is E, which represents the encounter with God that is needed. Karen Spears Zacharias writes, “Fear was making my world smaller and smaller. I knew if I let it continue that way, I’d eventually become a prisoner of my own soul. I began praying that very day that God would make me a woman of faith. I asked the Creator to give me the courage to move beyond the borders of my confirming imaginations and into the glory of God’s imaginings.”

In order to be a people who make an entry into life that overcomes fear we must daily be immersed in the Scriptures. There Jesus says: “Take courage. It is I, Don’t be afraid.” (Matt 6:50) He goes on to say, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Daily we are given the choice whether we are going to make an entry into the assurances of God’s word or the crazy tapes of fear and unbelief that Satan turns loose in our heads each day. Fear kept the children of Israel wondering in the wilderness for forty years and that is where it will keep you unless you let Faith in God make its entry into your life.

We can experience this entry because while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. No one can truly appreciate the fact that Christ died for their sins unless they first recognize the need that exists in their life. This need is a result of the reality that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

Unless we recognize we are sinners in need of a Savior, we will continue to live in fear knowing we will never be able to encounter the Holy God of Heaven and Earth. It is our sins that separate us from God. The reality of this separation, which is evident by the results of sin all around us, further perpetuates our fears.

Sin has thrust us directly into battle with the God of the universe. As this battle rages around us and within us, we find hope in the fact that a treaty has been provided for us through Jesus Christ. John 3:16-18 shows us how this treaty has been established. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because He has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

~ Rev. Larry Rice