Just as faith has the power to overcome fear, one of the most powerful suppressors of faith is fear. Fear as a reverential awe for God is not the antithesis for faith, but fearful thoughts that terrify and scare us. One fear is healthy and commanded (Matthew 10:28), the other is cowardly and condemnable (Revelation 21:8). One motivates us toward great and noble feats while the other cripples us in base and selfish acts.

There are several instances where the Bible demonstrates these critical differences. Before Jesus stilled the storm-tossed sea, the disciples were terrified thinking they were perishing. Jesus, in response to their fear, asked, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:25-26). Fear paralyzed them, where faith would have comforted and encouraged them.

The Hebrew writer tells us of the faith of Noah. “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7). Noah chose to let faith govern his actions, moving with a reverential awe for God, ultimately saving his house and mankind.

In like fashion, the same context tells us of Moses and how “by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). Because Moses chose to act by faith, rather than fear, he endured and delivered Israel.

As in these instances, the question remains for us, will we choose to live our lives in the flesh by fear or will we let faith govern our actions despite the possible imagined outcomes? Fearful or faithful—the choice is ours!