The Kind of Faith That Scares Worry into Silence

Monster fires in the California mountains consume everything in their path. It takes only a spark to start a raging blaze. What if there was something like fire that could consume your worry just as an actual fire consumes anything in its path? Something that would scare it into silence?

There is—if you're willing to be reckless and ruthless.

God’s Word gives us examples of women and men who were reckless and ruthless, in a way that brought them closer to God. 

How do you ignite a reckless, ruthless faith fire? Listen to this episode and discover what you need as fire starter to get a blazing faith and trust. 

Jeremiah said the Word of God is like a fire in his heart that cannot be contained. (Jeremiah 20:9) This is what I pray for you: A fire in your heart that burns with trust in God.

Get the CareLetter! Sign-up for a monthly connection to anxiety-reduction resources, methods for building trust in God, book reviews, podcast updates, and more. 

Connect with me at anchorednotanxious.com. Your story matters to me.

Email me at terrihutchinson@anchorednotanxious.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/terri.hutchinson.140

Transcript

Monster fires in the California mountains are scary and mesmerizing. The power of fire is like a virus. It spreads and becomes more intense. It takes only a spark to start a raging blaze. What if something like fire could consume your worry just as an actual fire consumes anything in its path? 

Strap on a backpack of reckless and ruthless.

I lived reckless and ruthless for a short time in my life without God. You can imagine how that turned out. Reckless and ruthless in tandem with God is a whole different kind of living.   

Being reckless looks like this. 

A bleeding woman, ceremonially unclean and labeled an outcast, went into a large crowd though prohibited. She worked her way through the people to touch Jesus’s clothes. She didn’t think Jesus would notice, but He did. Now she is exposed for being in public and for taking healing power from Jesus. (Mark 5:25-34)

Being ruthless looks like Paul’s attitude in 2 Corinthians 6:5-10. Paul writes of his hardships: in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; having nothing, and believing he possessed everything.

Both were reckless and ruthless in their trust in God, believing He cared, saw, heard, and knew.

Worry interrupts, intrudes, and disturbs our peace and focus. What if worry could be consumed, overtaken by something more powerful than it? 

A reckless, ruthless faith fire is needed.

What will it take to ignite a fire like that? Doesn’t take much. Remember that verse, faith as small as a mustard seed has the power to move a mountain, yeah. Just place your meager faith on a figurative woodpile and ask God to ignite it. 

Colossians 1:11 says, God strengthens with all power according to his glorious might so you may have great endurance and patience. It’s a working power from God into your heart, mind, and soul.

A working, active power.

Now, if you’re still weighing whether you should put “that much faith” in God, His power, then you’re letting worry have the last word. 

Worry consumes your mental energy. It creates an emotional imbalance. Worry is a thief and you have to be bold, loud, and confront it.

Prayer is fuel for a faith fire. Pour out a prayer for faith, strength and endurance. This activates a reckless, ruthless faith. 

The apostle Paul saw his disciple Timothy struggling with trust, so he gave Timothy a call to action: “Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline”. (2 Timothy 1:6-7)

Your ruthless faith looks for God working day to day within you, in them, or the situation. Worry wants you looking at the outcome you want or think should happen. Faith is concerned with what, where, when, how God is present. No one can predict the future including worry.

A reckless faith asks God for the impossible knowing nothing is impossible for God. You hope for the best possible outcome and you release any expectations. Your faith is not tied to the outcome. In other words, whatever happens, your faith is not conditional. You lay it before God based on what you know to be true of God. 

All of these actions maintain your faith fire.

Does your trust in God act like a fire? It’s okay if it doesn’t. Faith and trust is a process of developing a history with God. A history that reminds you He was with you then, He’ll be with you now.

In my life, there is a situation I’ve prayed about for three years. Three years I have contemplated all sorts of scenarios that do not end well. Yet, the individuals I pray for have not experienced any of the scenarios I’ve imagined. Over the course of the three years, my requests of God have changed and I’ve chosen to focus on what is happening to sustain them rather than what is not happening that could devastate them.

Jeremiah tells God the Word of God is like a fire in his heart and cannot be contained. He can’t help but let it affect what he thinks and believes. (Jeremiah 20.9)

This is what I pray for you. A fire in your heart that burns with trust in God. 

Until next time