Three Ways to Exchange Fear for Faith

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

The other day while my fingers danced on my keyboard, suddenly something happened. My muscles tightened. “Cindi, don’t know what’s wrong,” I wrote to my friend and ministry partner. “I’m stuck, really stuck. My computer says there’s no room on the disk and I’m out of memory.”

Even from far away, she resolved the crisis. “Sometimes,” she wrote gently, “this can happen when you have too many windows open.”

Duh! That’s exactly what happened. I, the queen of multi-tasking, had so many windows open at once that a mighty draft was probably blowing my way.

Why do we do that? It’s insane. We open windows in life too—our kids do something off-the-wall for the umpteenth time, we open the window of worry. When will they ever learn! Money problems don’t let up, so we open the window of anxiety. The doctor’s office leaves a message, “We found something abnormal in the test.” We open the window of fear. Our spouse still won’t understand us; we fling open the window of anger.

Then our life gets stuck, no more memory of joy. The files where peace was stored can’t be accessed. And the folder of security is empty.

Frustration led me to find a 3-step solution:

• Take a deep breath, look up. The God of the universe is watching. He’s listening and ready to point to the solution.

• Pull emotionally away from all those open windows.

• Inhale His comfort, repeat His promise and know that, “Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will bring me safely through them” (Psalm 138:7, The LB-Paraphrased).

Father, in the midst of fear that fuels my stress, how comforting it is to know that you, with your mighty power, will bring me safely through all those stages. Teach me to trust in you, in your timing and in your ways, as you show me how to purposefully close each window of adversity. In Jesus’ name, amen.