I must confess a few weeks ago, I was not sleeping well and consumed with worry and fear. Due to some stressful and hard conversations that were necessary and productive, I had great fear over what could possibly happen, and I operated out of fear rather than out of faith in the sovereignty of God. Can you relate?
In those moments, my actions do not reflect the sincerity of my faith. I’m not beating myself up but observing an area of my life where I must grow to walk more by faith and not by sight. My failures expose opportunities to grow, and for that, I am thankful.
When we are exposed to sin or weak faith, what do we do? Some may grind it out more and work harder. Some may get swept away by fear and are unable to function. A proper response would be to acknowledge God’s design and to turn from the pattern that leads to our failure. It is more than simply saying “stop it” to my worry and fear. It is more of growing in self-awareness to see my tendencies and rely on the Spirit to guide me before I am swept away by the current of fear.
It also requires a humble heart of repentance to acknowledge that God does not desire me to walk in fear and failure, but I clearly have demonstrated what happens when I do this on my own! Humble repentance is required for genuine change.
We see this demonstrated in the response of Nineveh to the message of Jonah. They repented and relented to a sovereign God who ultimately could forgive or punish. It is only the mercy of God and His will that determines the outcome, and we must humble ourselves. Think of the power in Micah 6:8 – “He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you. Do justice. Love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”.