Faith over Fear: Confronting Your Lion

DownloadFaith Over Fear: Confronting Your Lions

In a world filled with anxiety, depression, and uncertainty, fear often seems to be the default response. But as believers, we're called to something greater. We're not meant to be slaves to fear but sons and daughters who walk in power and authority.

What Does the Bible Say About Confronting Fear?
In 2 Samuel 23:20, we read about Benaiah, one of David's mighty men: "There was also Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it."

Think about this scenario. Benaiah had already had a tough day fighting skilled warriors. Most of us would want to find a recliner, turn on the AC, and relax after such exertion. Instead, he encountered a snarling lion on a snowy day.

What did Benaiah do? He didn't retreat to comfort. He looked at the lion and essentially said, "You're going to follow me to that pit, and only one of us is coming out." That's fortitude. That's the warrior spirit we need when facing our fears.

How Do We Identify the Lions in Our Lives?
1 Peter 5:8 tells us, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

The devil isn't a real lion, but he operates like one—seeking to instill fear. Your "lion" might be:

• Unforgiveness
• Addiction
• Bitterness
• Self-pity
• Comparison
• Feeling that God is distant

The lion represents the lie the enemy has placed on you. What is your lion? What lie has been holding you back?

Does Fear Mean My Faith Is Weak?
Fear does not disqualify faith—it tests it. Just because you face fear doesn't mean you're less than or that God is angry with you. These moments of testing refine our faith.
During a recent youth camp, many young people experienced breakthroughs with fear. One young man shared how he and his brother were born colorblind, but after prayer, they were completely healed—confirmed by medical tests. Another student described feeling forgotten by God, only to experience His presence powerfully during worship.

These testimonies remind us that God is still in the miracle business. When we see God move, we should celebrate like heaven celebrates!

Where Does True Courage Come From?
Courage comes from God's presence, not your personality. It's easy to say, "They're just naturally fearless" and retreat to our chair of complacency. But that's not biblical courage.
David understood this when he pleaded in Psalm 51:11, "Cast me not away from your presence. Take not your Holy Spirit from me." He had everything, but what mattered most was God's presence.

This is why we can say with confidence, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because you are with me" (Psalm 23:4). Biblical courage isn't about being naturally bold—it's about drawing confidence from God's promise of His continual presence.

What Happens When Fear Gets Louder?
The roar is loudest before the breakthrough. When you're getting closer to your miracle, fear often intensifies. The enemy doesn't want you to experience freedom, so he makes the lion's roar deafening.

Think about Moses. He was an outcast, a murderer who ran from his responsibilities. Yet God met him in the wilderness and shared the vision for his life. When Moses looked at his own abilities to accomplish that vision, he became afraid.

In Exodus 4, God asked Moses, "What's in your hand?" Moses replied, "A shepherd's staff." God told him to throw it down, and it turned into a snake—something Moses feared. Then God told him to pick it up by the tail, and it became a staff again.
This wasn't the same staff. The first was led by what Moses could control. The second was led by what God does—it was anointed, filled with faith, a miraculous perspective.

How Do I Break Free From Fear's Grip?
Throughout Scripture, God told Moses to throw down the staff, pick it up, raise it over the sea, lead the people with it. Why? He was conditioning Moses to understand: "I go before you. Faith goes before me."

When Moses reached the Red Sea and cried out to God, the Lord responded, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving. Pick up your staff and raise it over your head and over the sea" (Exodus 14).

God doesn't call the fearless—He strengthens the faithful. He's asking you to pick up the staff of faith and raise it over the lies that have been placed on you.

Life Application
This week, identify the "lions" in your life—those fears that have been holding you back from walking in the fullness of what God has for you. Then, instead of running from them or coddling them, confront them with faith.

Ask yourself:

• What avenues of fear am I voluntarily allowing into my life? (Media, relationships, conversations)
• Am I becoming like the culture I'm called to lead, or am I reflecting Christ?
• What would change if I truly believed that "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18)?

Remember, you have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7). You have authority through Christ to say to fear, "Depart from me."
Everywhere you go, let the staff of faith go before you. When you try to go back to old patterns, old relationships, old negativity—that staff will block the way. You're not going back. You're moving forward in faith.