Trust and Fear

Do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

Our office meeting devotional today was based on Isaiah 41:10 (above). What are we afraid of? What does it prevent us from doing? Why do we fear when we should trust?

It was -- I was going to say ironic, but that's not really the word I mean. Perhaps a God-moment -- that this was Sally's topic of the devotional. Earlier this morning my mind had been wandering around some of the same questions -- although along a slightly different path.

What does it mean to say that I trust God? What am I trusting him to do? I don't believe that my faith in God will prevent bad things from happening. Even if I believe that God has led me to this place where I now stand, I don't believe that trusting him means that I get to stay here. This is not a protected place -- not a place protected by my trust in God.

So why does it sometimes seem like fear is the opposite of faith? I'm not sure that it is. Yes, fear can be an obstacle to obedience to God, but do I expect my faith to lead me to a fearless life?

I don't think that it can. I think that there will always be fear, and there will be loss, and there will be pain and sadness. And aren't those things to be feared? If trusting God doesn't prevent them, then how can I expect to live a fearless life? I think that might be unreasonable.