Faith Greater Than Fear : Introduction

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1

I'm going to be honest. I am not fearless. I'm a pretty fearful person. That sounds a bit hypocritical coming from the writer on a blog called She Laughs Without Fear. In fact, I should be called Much-Afraid Madi. There are many things that make me fearful. Some things might surprise you:

• I'm often afraid of people, which means that I tend to want to please people and say what they want to hear instead of speaking the truth in love.
• I'm afraid of letting people see my messiness, my flaws and imperfections.
• I'm afraid of the future and often want to try to control things. 
• I'm afraid of failing in many areas of life.
• I'm afraid of putting my honest thoughts to pen or in this case, internet.
• Lastly, I'm afraid that I don't have enough faith. 

I've been thinking a lot about these fears lately, especially since I'm in a season where I'm called to be faithful, which means choosing to take steps of boldness.  

There is a strong pull in my life right now between faith and fear. 

Yes, I am very fearful, which pulls me towards apathy, laziness, and self-pity. 

But then there's a stronger pull, with a greater Anchor, tugging me towards choosing faith, which leads to freedom, discipline, and joy. 

The natural bent of my heart is in the direction of fear, but that road does not bring life. It only brings death and destruction to my soul. 

Now faith, that's a different road entirely. A road that is far less travelled. One with rockier terrain. But it's like that road that leads to the most beautiful and perfect sunset overlook. At first, it doesn't seem like it would lead to a beautiful destination, but as you walk farther along, the landscape changes. 

But faith means very different things to different people. You can have faith that a chair will support you. But the faith I'm talking about is very different. The faith I'm talking about is putting one's hope in Christ alone. 

So join me for the next 31 days as we focus on a faith greater than fear. 

Here's a little bit of what to expect from this series:

Mondays - Fridays: Greater Than ____________ post
These will be posts that focus on a specific fear and how faith in Christ allows us to overcome that fear. 

Saturdays: Greater Than Fear Links
Links to blogs, articles, songs, or talks that go along with the 31 day series. 

Sundays: Greater Than Fear Scripture
We're going to take Sundays to rest a bit and focus specifically on Scripture and times when God's people have chosen faith over fear. 

If ever you miss a day, just visit this link. 

​I'm excited to begin this journey with you! 2 days to go!