...she came trembling and fell
down before Him
[knowing she was publicly found out and
was healed]
In the story of
Jesus healing a woman who had been chronically hemorrhaging for many years
(Mark
5:25 and Luke 8:43), we
typically note her faith that caused her to reach out and touch. Seldom do we recognize her fear, but there
may be an important insight here. Just as Peter, in faith, jumped out of the boat and took a few steps on the water
toward Jesus, then experienced a ‘crisis of faith’ as he began to sink, this
woman had a sudden plunge from ‘great faith’ to considerable fear. I have pondered this point many times as I have fallen countless times in the exact same trap! Here is some of what I am still learning.
Have you ever
noticed that, in the English language, fear is both a verb and a noun, whereas
faith is strictly a noun, with a corresponding verb – to believe? So why do we speak of fear as if it is a
monolith? Since fear is a ‘necessary
aspect’ of faith, it warrants a bit of unpacking to ensure we have and maintain
the correct perspective.
Ok, does the title of
this post stir your imagination and desire to achieve this kind of faith? And does the notion of fear being 'a necessary
aspect of faith' make you bristle, as it did with me? If so, stay tuned!
In English, fear refers
to both a verb (to be afraid) and to nouns.
In noun form, fear is an emotion, a spirit, and a spiritual energy or force. The spirit of fear is satan's chief
lieutenant who specializes in perverting the forces of love and faith to
achieve satan's objectives. The force or
energy of fear is simply faith, corrupted or perverted. Read that again. The root of fear IS faith – faith that has
been hijacked, twisted and inverted.
Consider the clear
example of energy that derives from fuel ignited in your car’s engine. Let’s call the fuel ‘love’. When ignited, your car can be driven
forward. Let’s call that ‘faith’, moving
toward or believing ‘unseen things hoped for’ (Hebrews 11:1). But this same energy or force also enables
your car to be driven in reverse. Let’s call that ‘fear’, moving toward or believing
‘unseen things not hoped for’. Satan has successfully perverted every good
thing God created. In this example, fear
is faith going in the opposite, unintended, undesired direction. It is the same creative force that becomes
destructive when in reverse gear. Faith
and fear, therefore, coexist, just as the fuel in your tank offers the
opportunity for your car to be driven forward or in reverse.
Consider the
example of a balloon inflated. Let’s
call the air pressure inside ‘faith’, and the air pressure outside ‘fear’. The external air pressure/fear is ever
present in our world, yet the opportunity to overcome it must be developed,
with effort. When inflated, the air
pressure inside the balloon is greater than the air pressure outside, yet equilibrium
has been reached to enable the balloon to remain inflated. Immersing the
balloon in water or releasing it to float upward into the atmosphere changes the external
pressures impacting the balloon.
Finally, consider a
typical arm wrestling match of fellows of roughly equal strength. Until one fellow
fatigues or gets a burst of energy/enthusiasm, the match is stagnant (an
equilibrium is maintained), with no winner/loser.
In all these
examples, the desired objectives cannot be achieved without the presence or
opportunity of the opposite. A normal
car cannot only drive forward without the option of going in reverse; a balloon
cannot be inflated without the option of being deflated, and an arm wrestling
match cannot be won without the option of being lost. Similarly, fear and faith must and do
co-exist in our current world.
So what does it
mean to ‘cast off fear’, per 1 John 4:18, which says "Perfect love casts off
fear"? There are many
interpretations. Here are mine.
·
Only
God is love perfected, and He did
cast out of His Heaven satan and his crew of evil/corrupted spirits, including
the spirit of fear!
·
Similar
to the examples above, we have the option and ability to apply faith to ‘drive
forward’, ‘keep the balloon inflated’, and ‘win the arm wrestling match’, thus overcoming
fear – the nouns (the emotion and the spiritual energy or force
of fear), and fearing (the verb, being afraid).
·
We also
have the ability to bind and resist the operations of the spirit
of fear, recognizing the opportunity to fear is ever present in this life.
The opportunity to
fear is indeed ever present,
just like the air pressure surrounding an inflated balloon. In this life, we have the ever-present opportunity to believe
unseen things -- either those we hope and believe for, or those we do not want
and are afraid they will erupt.
So what is butt-kicking
faith? This is simply the fruit of (mustard) seed
faith -- developed.
The good news is we
don't necessarily need "great faith" to conquer most, fear-laden
tests of our adversary. It only takes
"more faith than fear” in order to resist and eventually overcome,
just as with Peter walking on the water, the hemorrhaging woman who reached out
and touched Christ, and the arm wrestling match. How much more depends on the nature and
extent of the outside pressure (as with the balloon example). This is NoT to suggest we should be satisfied with little/seed faith. God does all things (except miracles) via the
seed, time and harvest law. He stuffs
purposeful DNA into all seed, including the seed faith you and I have been
given. Our seed faith has in it the DNA
of our ability not only to receive eternal life, but also to live the abundant
life Christ promises. Clearly, the
potential and fruit of seed faith need to be developed.
The devil is evil,
but not totally stupid. Just like fear
is not a monolith, neither is faith. If
your small, mustard seed faith has successfully repelled his initial attack, he can easily ‘recalculate
and recalibrate’ to find an attack that is bigger than your current faith. Or if you have well developed faith for A, B
and C, he can easily attack where your faith is weakest, at points X, Y and Z. Again, faith is not a monolith. We can and must develop faith for literally every aspect of life. This is why I dislike the concept of trying to
'move mountains' with only (mustard) seed-sized faith! We too often misuse the Scripture verses on
mustard seed faith. Consider this: If Jesus intended us to move
mountains with mustard seed-sized faith, He would not have wasted time
distinguishing between 'great faith' and 'little faith'. Makes sense?
Rather, be wiser and smarter than our common enemy, and recognize:
any
unplanted, undeveloped seed
has
never produced any fruit!
Remember,
butt-kicking faith is the fruit of (mustard) seed faith developed.
The next time we hear someone comment that 'it only takes mustard seed faith', let’s remember to ask the person, “Has an unplanted, undeveloped mustard seed ever put mustard on
your hot dog?” Just as this is impossible, it is also impossible to have butt-kicking faith from intentionally undeveloped 'mustard seed' faith! We might also ask the person, "Do you think Jesus is pleased with mustard seed faith remaining a seed?"
Here’s a
hopefully helpful tip: Air
pressure pushes upward. Just as an inflated
balloon released into the atmosphere or immersed into water rises, we can allow
the pressures and torments of fear (in any form, nouns or verb) to push us to look upward and rise in overcoming,
butt-kicking faith!
