The principle of faith in my walk has been an ongoing issue for the past few months. The struggle between faith and fear in our lives can often times become blurred stumbling blocks. In the past, I assumed that if I were fearful then I was not exhibiting a strong faith in God, right? It has always been my understanding that faith and fear are polar opposites. A person can’t walk east and west at the same time, so how can we walk in faith and fear at the same time? The only similarity is that they are both choices. The question that I seek to answer is “Can someone walk in faith and fear at the same time?”

This burning question of fear vs. faith was sparked a few months ago while having dinner with a group of friends. While we were all eating, Kerri began to choke. There was no drama to this occurrence; it was quiet and no one but she knew it was happening. She explained afterwards that when she began to choke, she was instantly fearful; but then she looked at her husband Bobby, and was instantly calmed. The reason she was calmed so quickly was that Bobby was an EMT a few years ago. She said that when she looked at him, she knew that if she were to choke, he could save her and everything would be okay.

If I were a betting person, I would wager that her calm, non-panicky reaction made the difference in whether or not she choked. Her faith in his abilities as an EMT snuffed out the fear inside her. My question, then, is “Why don’t I do this with God?” We are fearful when faced with a doctor’s dark prognosis or the child who has decided to dive in head first into all that the world has to offer.

When confronted with a serious situation, it is understandable that we will face fear, but we need to put our focus on God. We should lock in our focus, dig in our boots, grit our teeth, and put our faith into action. We should respond and not react. Our markers of faith should declare, “Lord, I thank You that by Your stripes I am right now walking in healing!” (Isaiah 53:5) or “Father, I thank You that I have raised my child up in the way that he should go, and he will not depart from it!” (Proverbs 22:6)

I am reminded of my pastor’s expression, “Don’t talk to God about how big your problem is; talk to the problem about how big your God is.” These are the situations where we put our faith into action. The reason Kerri didn’t choke that day is because of her choice to have faith over fear. Her faith in Bobby’s abilities to save her is what our faith in our heavenly Father’s promises should be: an absolute truth.

I thought for a while that a person of strong faith is never fearful, worrisome, or anxious. Now, I know that mature Christians of strong faith make a decision to look at the desired outcome, based on what the Bible says, rather than the current symptoms. Choosing faith doesn’t always mean that those fearful thoughts will be evaporated instantaneously. Sometimes a person has to walk out the situation in faith with knees knocking and pulse racing and just do it afraid. We will grow leaps and bounds spiritually when we face our fears wearing the full armor of God ultimately coming out victoriously, not to mention the testimony we will have to share with others. What I have learned is it is never wrong to experience fear, worry, or anxiety; it's what we do next that is paramount.