Fear vs. Faith — Part 4

The Daily Walk with Pastor Bill Zeltman

“And David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.” — 1 Samuel 17:48

We’ve reached the final message in our three-part Fear vs. Faith series.

In Part 1, we learned to choose faith over fear.

In Part 2, we learned to starve fear and feed faith through God’s Word.

Now comes the final step:

Stop running from the giant and start moving forward in faith.

Goliath Was Winning Without Fighting

First Samuel 17 describes an extraordinary scene.

Every day Goliath walked onto the battlefield and intimidated Israel.

The army heard his threats and became terrified.

Yet Goliath didn’t initially need to defeat them physically.

Fear had already defeated them mentally.

That is one of fear’s greatest strategies.

Fear tries to make us surrender before the battle begins.

“You can’t do this.”

“This problem is too big.”

“You don’t have what it takes.”

“You’ll never overcome this.”

Then David arrived.

He heard the same threats.

He saw the same giant.

But David responded differently.

Why?

Because Israel compared themselves to Goliath.

David compared Goliath to God.

Stop Measuring the Giant Against Yourself

Fear asks:

“How can I possibly overcome this?”

Faith asks:

“Is anything too difficult for God?”

Jeremiah 32:27 says:

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?”

Your strength may be insufficient.

Your resources may be limited.

Your understanding may be incomplete.

But faith isn’t confidence in your own ability.

Faith is confidence in God.

Remember Your Lion and Your Bear

When Saul questioned David’s ability to face Goliath, David remembered the lion and the bear God had already helped him overcome.

Yesterday’s victories became today’s evidence of God’s faithfulness.

We should do the same.

Remember what God has already brought you through.

Remember the prayers He’s answered.

Remember the impossible situations He resolved.

Remember the seasons you thought would destroy you.

Your testimony isn’t merely a memory.

Your testimony can become a weapon against today’s fear.

Revelation 12:11 says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

When fear reminds you of everything that could go wrong, remind yourself of everything God has already done.

David Ran Toward Goliath

Then something extraordinary happened.

David didn’t cautiously approach Goliath.

Scripture says:

David ran toward him.

Everyone else retreated.

David advanced.

There are moments when faith requires us to stand our ground.

But sometimes faith requires us to move forward.

Maybe there is something fear has kept you from doing.

An act of obedience.

A calling.

A conversation.

A ministry assignment.

A new beginning.

A step God has been telling you to take.

At some point we must decide:

Fear will no longer dictate the boundaries of my obedience.

Our Confidence Is in Christ

Romans 8:31 asks:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

And Romans 8:37 declares:

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

Our confidence isn’t ultimately in ourselves.

It’s through Him.

Jesus defeated sin.

Jesus defeated death.

Jesus defeated the grave.

Our faith is not faith in ourselves.

Our faith is in Jesus Christ.

Faith Still Trusts When We Don’t Understand

There is also an important truth we must remember.

Faith doesn’t mean demanding that God produce the outcome we want.

Faith means trusting God regardless of the outcome.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego demonstrated this beautifully in Daniel 3.

They knew God was able to deliver them from the fiery furnace.

Yet they essentially declared:

Even if He doesn’t, we still won’t bow.

That is powerful faith.

God is able.

We pray boldly.

We believe boldly.

We expect God to move.

But our faith isn’t dependent upon God doing things exactly our way.

Our faith is in God Himself.

Who Gets the Final Word?

Fear will speak.

Circumstances will speak.

Other people will speak.

Your past may try to speak.

The enemy will certainly try to speak.

But none of them deserves the final word.

God does.

When fear speaks, return to God’s Word.

When the giant shouts, return to God’s Word.

When circumstances change, return to God’s Word.

When you don’t understand, return to God’s Word.

Because fear does not get to write the ending.

DECLARATION

I declare that I will not live in fear!

God has given me power, love, and a sound mind.

I will remember my lion.

I will remember my bear.

I will remember God’s faithfulness.

I will not measure my giant against my own strength.

I will measure my giant against Almighty God!

My God is greater.

My God is faithful.

My God is with me.

My God is for me.

I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ.

I will not retreat from what God has called me to do.

I will walk by faith and not by sight.

Fear does not have the final word over my life. God’s Word does!

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

PRAYER

Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, I pray for everyone reading this today.

Break every stronghold of intimidation and fear that has kept us from obeying You.

Holy Spirit, remind us of every lion and every bear You have already brought us through.

Let testimonies of Your faithfulness rise within us until courage replaces fear.

Give us boldness to step forward.

Give us courage to obey.

Give us strength to stand.

Give us wisdom to know when to wait and when to advance.

Above everything else, teach us to trust You.

Even when we don’t understand.

Even when Your answer looks different from ours.

Even when the journey takes longer than expected.

Our confidence is in Jesus Christ.

Today we declare that fear will no longer dictate the boundaries of our lives.

We will follow You.

We will obey You.

We will trust You.

And when fear tells us to retreat, we will remember that our God is greater than every giant.

In Jesus’ mighty name,

Amen!

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Stay Connected

Thank you for joining me for this three-part Fear vs. Faith series on The Daily Walk.

Remember these three truths:

Choose Faith.

Feed Faith.

Walk in Faith.

Fear may knock on the door.

Fear may shout from the battlefield.

Fear may try to convince you that your giant is too big.

But fear doesn’t get the final word.

GOD DOES!

Visit ZeltmanMinistries.org for more messages, prayer, encouragement, and resources from Walking in the Word — Zeltman Ministries.

Until next time, keep walking in the Word, keep listening to the Holy Spirit, and when God tells you to advance…

RUN TOWARD THE GIANT!

— Pastor Bill Zeltman

Walking in the Word — Zeltman Ministries