In my last blog I wrote about the Christian life being a battleground. We are engaged in spiritual warfare against a powerful, formidable enemy. And this enemy doesn’t fight fair. He will use everything at his disposal to engage Christians in a battle of enormous proportions. I focused my remarks in that blog on the battleground between belief and behavior.

This week I would like to continue to focus on the battleground of a Christian’s life and experience by looking at the battleground between faith and fear. With all that is happening in the world today it is easy to find ourselves overcome by fear. Fear is debilitating, paralyzing. It will render those who give in to its tenacious grip powerless. It is so powerful that it can cause one to become incapacitated in a self-imposed prison, paralyzed by the “what ifs” of life.

One of the strange things about the battleground between faith and fear is that it is possible to experience a tremendous faith victory one moment, and be in the death-grip of fear the next. A classic Biblical example of this is found in First Kings 18 where we read of the encounter between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal.

The people of Israel had embraced Baal worship, and the nation was experiencing a time of spiritual blight. Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of Baal to call on the name of their God, while Elijah would call on the name of God. The one who sent fire from heaven to devour the sacrifice that had been placed on the altar would then be recognized as God.

The prophets of Baal called on him to reveal himself by sending fire from heaven. They cried, and called, and cut themselves for hours with no response from their so-called god. Elijah even mocked them, telling them to yell more loudly because Baal might need to be awakened. They became so agitated that they began to cut themselves, thinking that their actions might persuade Baal to show up.

He didn’t. He couldn’t. Because he doesn’t exist!

Then Elijah had water poured over the altar and sacrifice which he had prepared. He then prayed – simply that. And God sent fire from heaven that licked up the water, burned the rocks, and consumed the sacrifice. A powerful display of God responding to His prophet’s act of faith.

If the story stopped there we would probably assume that this unbelievable display of God’s power would be such that Elijah’s faith would never falter again. But sadly, the story goes on to say that immediately after this tremendous victory over the prophets of Baal, Jezebel threatened Elijah’s life, causing him to flee into the wilderness, where in a state of despair he asked God to take his life. His faith was quickly overcome by fear.

That’s life. We are on a spiritual mountaintop one moment, and in the valley of despair the next. We are prone to be overcome and overwhelmed by the onslaught of a satanic assault. Fear cripples us, causing us to cower away in hiding, thinking the worse thing imaginable is about to occur.

The Bible teaches with astounding clarity that the Christian life begins by an expression of faith, and continues in the expression of faith. Faith is complete trust, total dependence, upon God. It is trusting Him explicitly. It is trusting Him to perform His will in our lives even when we don’t see the evidence of that reality. It is, as the apostle John says, the source of the believer’s victory over the world.

And we must constantly remind ourselves of one vital truth: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is taking God at His word, even when we don’t see the physical manifestation of what we believe. Faith enables us to see beyond the present set of circumstances to the throne of God, with Him seated on that throne, in sovereign control over the affairs of man.

And, we must also constantly remind ourselves that God operates on the basis of His plan, not on the basis of our demands. He is not a puppet on a string that we can dangle according to our desires. Rather, He is a loving Father who cares deeply for His children. As we trust Him, He guides, and He provides.

The battleground is real. The explosives are dangerous. It is our faith that gives the victory. So let’s look above and beyond the clutter of life, and entrust ourselves to the One who will see us through.

Blessings!