“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,”
Psalm 42:1-2a
Israel camping on the edge of Canaan is evidence of “fear or faith.” Twelve men were commissioned to spy out the land. They were to specifically to determine if conquest was possible.
Upon their return ten men gave a negative report. “We cannot take this land.” But two came back with positive news. “We can! We can take this land.” Two against twelve! Faith against fear.
Many live with a sense doom and fear. It is a “stronghold” that dominates their lives. It doesn’t have to be a specific issue, but there stiill be a sense of dread about the future. This is a destructive problem that fear brings to our hearts.
We can become disheartened and discouraged by our daily battle. Instead of faith we choose fear. The Lord’s promises are easily forgotten. We are devoid of a hopeful faith and are content to live out of this anxiety.
Believers are not immune to this discouragement. Sometimes the obstacles seem overwhelming. We deduce that this is normal and try to manage our defeated lives. But somehow a little voice tells us that there is something more, something better.
The Holy Spirit is supposed to be our steady companion, not fear. We are to emulate the two spies who came back to announce a complete victory. They tried to inject hope into the people’s lives with a good report.
A word about “panic attacks.” They are real and formidable. But God can guide you through them, you don’t need to suffer alone. Dealing with the fear and anxiety in your life can really help. For me the severity has reduced the attacks. The active presence of God is no small thing.
I shall not fear with the Lord Jesus at my side.
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Broken Believers 
Many people feeling discouraged right now, and I’m one of them. I always say, “Believing is the easy part.” The fulfillment of the promises is another story. How is a man to feel who marries a woman and for the next several years she refuses to have sex with him? They are in fact married, but there is no fulfillment of marriage (or marriage vows, really). The man “believes” that his wife loves him; but he has no real evidence of it. Believers who wait for God’s unfulfilled promises are in such a situation: we are married, but there has been no fulfillment, no joining, no union. How is that man supposed to feel? Is he supposed to ‘wait in faith’ that this woman he lives with who refuses him natural spousal intimacy really loves him? But that’s where I am with God: believing (‘marriage’) is from free will on my part and is easy; the fulfillment of the promises (‘sex’) is not yet met and is in God’s hands. It is ‘a sexless marriage’, and like any human being, I’m not happy about it.
“Believing is the easy part.” For me, faith is easy. I meet too many ‘believers’ who don’t believe and too many Christians who absolutely have zero faith. I’ve met several of them in the last ten months– believers who actually want to ‘go with the Lord’ (not the posers and self-satisfied Christians who could care less for God); but they are all afraid and have no faith. So, here I am, believing alone, without fulfilled promises– standing with Joshua and Caleb and saying, “We are well able” while the bigger crowd huddles together in fear saying, “We are not able.” So, like in the past, I guess we who believe have to wait on the side of unfulfilled promises until the non-believing ‘die off’ so only true believers enter in. I just wonder how much longer that’s going to take. Living in ‘a sexless marriage’ (in real life or regarding the promises of God) takes a brand new kind of ‘faith’ to accommodate.
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