I realized something recently that shocked me. It rocked me. It made me rethink so much of what I know about this struggle for mental and emotional health.

Here’s what I realized: Both fear and faith require the same amount of energy. They both ask you to believe in something that hasn’t happened yet, and then act on that belief. They are really two sides to the same coin.

Fear wants you to believe the worst is ahead of you. You’re going to lose your job, or you’ll never get that promotion even though you deserve it. You’ll never get married, or you’re about to be divorced. You’re not going to have enough money to support your family. Your kids are going to go astray. Your friends don’t really like you. The health issues that plagued your parents and grandparents are going to plague you with a double portion.

Fear pushes you to believe the worst about your future.

Faith Goes the Other Way

You will get that promotion — and even if you don’t, there’s something better coming down the line. You are going to build the kind of marriage you’ve always dreamed about; it can happen. Your kids will be a blessing in your life. You have people who love you deeply. You can stand against sickness and win because you are a servant of Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals His people.

Faith invites you to believe the best is yet to come.

Psalm 23 is a powerful statement from David about choosing faith over fear. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley” — the valley of the shadow of death — “I will fear no evil” (v. 4). That’s a promise made to himself and to God as he wrote that psalm. And it’s a message that has inspired people for thousands of years.

What we need to remember, though, is that David didn’t write that psalm during a time of peace. He didn’t write those words on a plush bed or some well-equipped desk at the palace. No, he was in a cave somewhere in the Judean wilderness, hiding out from an army. David wrote that psalm during a period in which Saul was hunting him. Trying to kill him. Whole legions of soldiers were literally hunting David in order to take him out.

It would have been easy for David to believe what fear told him about the future. You’re toast. You’re done for. You’re going to be running and hiding in these rocks until somebody pins you down with a spear.

Focused Thoughts

Instead, David focused his thoughts on the One who brings peace. “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,” he said, writing to God, “and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (v. 6).

You can do the same thing. Fear has taken up residence in your mind and heart for long enough. Too long. It’s infected your thoughts. It’s infected your marriage. It’s infected your work. It’s infected your relationships. It’s infected your spiritual life.

It’s time to say, “Enough!” It’s time to serve an eviction notice and put fear out of business in your life.

Lord Jesus, my Savior, I choose right now to walk in freedom from fear. The only fear I accept in my mind and heart is the fear of God. I believe the best is yet to come in my life, Lord Jesus, because You are in charge of my life. I say yes to the blessings You are ready to pour out on me and my family, and I say no to worry or anxiety or doubt or fear. Whatever fears have plagued me in the past, I reject them now. I release them now. And I choose to carry them no more.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

Paul Daugherty will join Randy Robison and Tammy Trent on LIFE Today on June 12. Excerpted from Mind Games by Paul Daugherty. Copyright ©2024 by Paul Daugherty. Published by FaithWords, a division of Hachette Book Group. Used by permission.