A prayer for brave faith by Gwen Smith, but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm. Proverbs 133.

It's understandable that we wrestle with the opponent of fear.

The world is broken and life isn't a hallmark movie or a fairy tale,

although I do love a good hallmark movie.

In the same token, when I realize it's completely normal for us to process emotions of anxiety and unrest, the Bible says that it is not God's

plan for us to crumble in its wake. 2 Timothy 1.7.

We can't let fear run our lives. Fear was never meant to control or consume us.

The good news is that God doesn't just tell us to suck it up and deal.

He gives us the tools we need to help us in the fear fight. God's wisdom is perfect. It

leads my heart, mind, and soul to safety and rest in a world that is filled with scary realities and

uncertainties and it's free for the asking. He gives us wisdom when we ask for it.

That promise is found in James 1.5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without

reproach, and it will be given him. When we ask for and listen to God's wisdom,

when we hear it, yield to it, apply it, and obey it, we will live in peace, not the world's peace, God's peace. We will be at ease in Christ.

Not with perfect lives, but with lives that are led by the spirit of God, not controlled by fear and

anxiousness. We can and will experience calm in spite of the chaos. I hear your pushback. Really? That seems too easy. It's just not that

simple Gwen. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to tap an easy button here.

The biblical instruction might be simple, but the implication of it isn't.

If you and I are going to live with a brave faith, we need God's help. Remember, Jesus said that without him we can bear no fruit.

John 15-5, what does the fruit have to do with this conversation?

Glad you ask. And the fruit of the story, have to do with this conversation.

Glad you ask.

...