Fear or Faith... Is it a Choice?
Has someone ever said to you when you are going through hardship and suffering… "Just be thankful?"
No empathy. No, I'm sorry you are going through this. Just the words, be thankful.
I had this happen to me recently. I shared just a tidbit of the financial stress are business is under due to our changing world—and how we could lose everything, our home included. Her words felt cold and distant, and truthfully, it rankled.
However, they were not wrong.
Sometimes, in the frailty of humanity, we do not receive the compassionate response we need. Especially from someone sitting in their large home, who can easily pay every bill, go on trips, retire in comfort… and who appear to have the blessing of God, not the suffering.
To be honest, envy can easily rise, and I must beat it down with the truth of Scripture. Neither Jesus nor the apostles lived in luxury, attributing wealth directly to how pleased God was with them. No, they lived in poverty. They were beaten, imprisoned, went hungry, shipwrecked, stoned, cold and thirsty. Read Paul's account in 2 Corinthians 11:22-33. Historic accounts also denote that most of the apostles died a martyr's death. Yet they felt blessed to be included in the suffering of Christ. The likes of which I know little.
However, I am 64 years old. I came from nothing, worked hard all my life, and am still working full time. The thought of entering my twilight years with no home, and no earthly possessions is not a comforting one.
But isn't God always on time?
In my grappling after this incident, I opened my Bible to Psalm 107. Five times it instructs us to "give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"
Interwoven in this repeated call to give thanks are five different examples—not of great times in life, but of hard ones.
- Give thanks when… wandering in the desert, hungry, thirsty, pursued by enemies that only God can redeem you from.
- Give thanks when… you are longing and hungry for spiritual food to the soul, sitting in darkness. God can and will break the chains, if we, but ask.
- Give thanks when… you are in trouble, distressed, in need of healing.
- Give thanks when… you are in the midst of a traumatic storm where the waves of the sea (this life) mount up to the heavens, then crash to the depths. God not only can calm the storm, but He can bring us into, as verse thirty says, "our desired haven." I love that!
- Give thanks when… the wilderness needs to be turned into pools of cleansing water, when the dry land needs to become springs. When you need a time of peace in your life. He can bless and multiply in the physical, but more importantly in the spiritual, making our families like a gathered flock where sin no longer has a hold.
And after all these examples of horrendous suffering, and the reminder to give thanks—to have a heart of gratitude for the awesome God we serve, He says:
"Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord."
Wow, now that was a reminder to give thanks…but in a whole new way. Because God is not asleep. He sees. He cares. He is able, as this chapter reminded me, to do the impossible.
- V2 Redeem us
- V2 Deliver us from the enemy
- V6 Deliver us out of distress
- V9 Satisfy the soul, and attend to the spiritual, filling the emptiness of soul
- V14 Bring us out of darkness, depression, and break all chains (fear, sin, pain, need for revenge, etc.)
- V18 Heal anorexia
- V20 Heal every measure of sorrow, whether physical, emotional, spiritual
- V23-28 Protect us in the storm, metaphorically or physically
- V30 Give calm. Offer a safe haven. Give peace.
- V33-40 God is all powerful, in charge of each country, each leader, each home. And V42— the righteous see this and rejoice.
And that last verse... I will quote it again:
"Whoever is wise will observe these things..."
And so I have a choice.
I can live in fear… or I can live in faith.
Fear will reap internal chaos because it stands opposite of trust. It whispers What if everything falls apart? It magnifies lack. It predicts ruin.
But faith remembers.
Faith remembers that God redeems.
That He delivers.
That He satisfies the soul.
That He breaks chains.
That He calms storms.
That He brings us to our desired haven.
No matter what He allows… He is not absent. He is not late. He is not indifferent.
He is loving.
And so today, I will hold both.
In one hand, grief and uncertainty.
In the other, gratitude.
Not because life is easy.
Not because the future feels secure.
But because Psalm 107 reminds me that wisdom is not found in comfort — it is found in recognizing the lovingkindness of the Lord in the middle of the storm.
This is a powerful truth I share with you... faith kills fear, and the reward of gratitude is peace.
Here is a wonderful song by Ben Fuller and Carrie Underwood that is a great reminder how God's ways are higher...even in the suffering.
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About the author
Blossom Turner is an award-winning novelist, and a free-lance writer published in Chicken Soup and Kernels of Hope anthologies, and former newspaper columnist on health and fitness. A Word Guild semi-finalist for Anna's Secret, Katherine's Arrangement, Amelia’s Heartsong, and a Word Guild winner for Best Romance for Lucinda’s Defender. She has found her home in the writing of historical fiction but is open to wherever God leads. The many 5-star reviews attest to the power of love and romance authentically woven into the Shenandoah Bride Series about five sisters and their five love stories.
Blossom lives in British Columbia, Canada, with her husband, David, of forty years and their dog Lacey named after Lacey Spring, Virginia, where this series takes place. A former businesswoman, personal trainer, and mother of two grown children she is now pursuing her lifelong dream of writing full-time. A hopeless romantic at heart, she believes all story should give the reader significant entertainment value. However, her writing embodies the struggles of real life. She infuses the reality of suffering with the hope of Christ to give a healthy dose of relatable encouragement to her reader. Her desire is to leave the reader with a yearning to live for Christ on a deeper level, or at the very least, create a hunger to seek for more.
Co-author Suzie Zanewhich
Suzie is a certified life coach, leader of emotional health, and resource specialist. She has found her niche as a soul coach.
Suzie finds purpose in empowering individuals to move towards growth, healing, and alignment with their authentic self. Suzie is driven by a calling to live authentically, as the person God created her to be, to reach her fullest potential and lead others to do the same. Her passion is to help others find meaning through discovering their strengths, gifts, personality, temperament and core values.
Suzie is a life-long learner, continuously immersing herself in new courses to learn more about human behaviour, relationships, psychology, child development, emotions, trauma and healing. Because of her craving to always learn more she has earned the title of resource specialist in the area of self-discovery.
Suzie Zanewich lives with her husband in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She has a patchwork family of four grown children, two daughters, two sons and three granddaughters.
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