All fear (particularly for Christians) is ultimately rooted in the belief that God's Word won't accomplish what it says it will; or that it may work for some but not for you. Yet in John 17:17, in
praying to Father God, Jesus said, "Your Word is truth." What God says is true – whether you feel it, see it, or have experienced it before in your life.
Consider God's track record. 1 Kings 8:56 says, "...He has done all that He promised. Every word has come true of all His good promise..." (New Life
Version). There are over 1000 predictions and prophecies in the Bible - promises that God made before they occurred. I once read statistics that say that the chances for even 17 of these coming to pass is 1 out of 450 billion x 1 billion x 1 trillion. Yet every one of them was fulfilled!
Once you realize and really get a hold of the fact that God has never failed to fulfill any of His promises and that you can rely on Him – you can depend on Him – fear has to leave!
Numbers 23:19 assures us, “God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction (regret) for what He has promised. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?”
In Isaiah 45:19, the Lord says, “I have not spoken in secret, in a corner of the land of darkness; I did not call the descendants of Jacob to a fruitless service, saying, “Seek Me for nothing” but I promised them a just reward. I, the Lord, speak righteousness (the truth—trustworthy, straightforward correspondence between deeds and words); I declare things that are right.”
Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, "God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In Isaiah 7:9 (early NLT) God implores of us, “If you want Me to protect you, learn to believe what I say.” There are many good things that God has for us but He will not force us. He will no more force us to receive gifts of His love into our lives than to receive salvation.
God can be trusted. He is good and His intentions toward you are good. Get that into your mind and heart. Meditate on it!
Believing God – Who He is and what He says – means believing His Word…having faith in Him and in what He has written.
How do we get to that place of faith in believing God’s Word?
1. Read and hear the Word of God regularly. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. We need to read the Word and listen to it being preached. You are in control of what goes into your eyes and ears. You are responsible for what fills your mind and heart and, therefore, for what you believe. What you see and hear and focus on is what gets deep into your heart and forms your beliefs.
When you focus on the Word, faith develops within your spirit. It becomes the first
response in your heart when trials and challenges come. You activate faith when
you speak out the Word of God that has been deposited in your heart; it becomes
active and alive in your heart… your thoughts and your words begin to agree with
God’s Word.
Some of the ways I take in the Word of God is through reading and studying my Bible and listening to pastor’s teaching at church (I bring a notebook/journal with me to take notes). During the week, I also watch my favorite ministers on TV or online (again, I take notes on the teachings I listen to). I have the entire Bible on CD that I listen to sometimes when I’m doing housework, while driving or exercise, or even just sitting and relaxing. I also listen to ministry teachings, and I have prayers on CD and Scripture CDs to listen to (on Healing, Provision, etc.). I just schedule them into my days through the week (I don’t listen to all of them at one time!) around the other things I have to do. There are some I might listen to more regularly than others too.
2. Hide the Word in your heart. We need to keep God’s Word going in our eyes (reading) and in our ears (listening). Memorize Scripture verses that really speak to you. Whether good or troubled times come, it is whatever you focus on that becomes what you believe. Instead of focusing on the problems and the things you’re afraid of, focus on what the Word of God says and you will have victory in every situation.
3. Strengthen yourself by studying and meditating on what the Word of God says concerning faith and believing. Use a concordance or an online or PC Bible software, and do a search in the Bible on the words “faith, belief, believing, believe” and similar, and see what comes up! Then meditate on them!
4. Learn what God has to say about the different areas of concern in your life as well – for your health and healing, for your finances, for your provision, for your deliverance, for your protection, and so on. God has something to say about every area of our lives. There may be certain things that the Bible does not specifically speak of but they fall under another area that is covered. For example, you may have need of a vehicle to get to a new job; the Bible obviously does not talk of buying cars. Yet the Bible does say that God supplies all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
5. Look up and read all the accounts in the Bible of how God always came through for His people (Abraham, Moses, the Israelites in the wilderness, and Paul and the Apostles in the New Testament, etc.) Think of all the times that God has come through for you in your own life. This will encourage you to believe God's Word now in your present circumstances
It is vital that we make sure our thinking lines up with the Word of God. If you don’t know what God says in His Word about healing, provision, protection, etc., then you are leaving yourself open for Satan’s deception and attacks. Satan would love for us to just passively accept whatever comes our way in life – diseases, illnesses, addictions, tragedies, losses and poverty, and so on. This perspective requires no faith, no action, no resistance, no battle, and leads to absolutely no victory.
James 4:7 says, “Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
The word "resist" is from the Greek word “anthistemi,” a compound of the words anti and istim. The word “anti” means against, to forcefully oppose something. The word “istimi” means to stand. When placed into one word, forming the word “anthistemi,” it means to stand defiantly in opposition against. The word illustrates the attitude of someone who is fiercely opposed to something and who will do everything within his power to resist it and defy its operation.
By this word, James is telling us that once we have submitted to God, we must aggressively stand against the work of the devil. It means digging in our heels and exerting our strength to drive Satan out of our lives. We must be firm, unyielding, and steadfast if we want to successfully win the battles he brings our way. As God's child, the Lord created you to be a conqueror (Romans 8:37) and an overcomer (1 John 5:4).
James also says that when we resist him, the devil will flee from us. Why? Because “greater is HE (God) that is in you than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
The more we give attention to the Word of God – hearing it correctly preached, reading it, listening to it – the more it will be established in our hearts and minds, and the more faith will grow from it. The more you read, learn and comprehend, the more you develop in your faith. You grow not only in faith, but in the strength of the Lord!
So, just as we need food for our bodies every day, we need to read the Word of God every day to feed our spirits. We see what it has to say about the areas of concern in our lives, and then we focus on that. The key is to hold on and believe God’s Word over your circumstances until your circumstances eventually line up with God’s Word. The Bible says that God watches over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12).
We need to get to the place of trusting and believing that what God has said He will do, He WILL do. Reading and hearing the Word leads to believing the Word.