Recently, a good friend and email subscriber reached out to me with this question:

It is possible to have complete faith in God, and still feel fear? 

Or perhaps more specific to our current circumstances, can we simultaneously have faith that God is going to watch over us, while still being afraid of Covid-19?

When it comes to life, faith, science—basically everything—we as humans want absolutes. And, we want ourselves to be resolute. Once we find what seems to be the right position on everything from the type of milk we drink, to politics, to our beliefs—we want to be unwavering. We want to land on the “right side” and dig in. 

People say things like “If you have faith, there’s no reason to be afraid.” As if, as soon as you form a relationship with Jesus, your life is enveloped in holy bubble wrap.

That is why people say things like “If you have faith, there’s no reason to be afraid.” As if, as soon as you form a relationship with Jesus, your life is enveloped in holy bubble wrap. That all doubt and fear should magically disappear, because nothing bad is going to happen to you. Only, that is not the promise God gave to us, and

Life is scary. 

Almost two months ago, before COVID-19 made its way to the States, my dad’s doctor found three tumors in his brain. He has been bravely fighting cancer on and off for about twelve years. But this is the scariest it has ever been. Never before, has the someday reality of losing my dad felt so close.

As a daughter, I am terrified. As a Christ Follower, I am able to find peace in knowing that God has not forsaken my dad. Only here is where the lack of absolutes trips me up: 

I want my faith in God to equal no more illness for my dad. 

I want it to look like healing, no pain, and no more cancer drugs. Instead, God’s answers to my prayers has looked like my dad experiencing incredible peace the week he got the diagnosis. It’s looked like good doctors, and a promising treatment option.  

God’s promise to us is not that he will protect us and our loved ones from every struggle or illness. His promise is that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus told us, “In this world, you will have trouble,” but not to worry because He “has overcome the world (John 16:33).” 

Strong faith does not look like believing nothing is going to happen to us because God is on our side. It looks like trusting that He will walk with us through every trial, struggle, and illness. Trust, that is not easy in times of difficulty. 

Blessings aren’t the promise. The promise is God is with us.

Sometimes our loved one’s scans will be clean, we’ll experience powerful healing, or be spared entirely. But those blessings aren’t the promise. The promise is God is with us.

All this to say, my answer to my friend’s question is: 

Yes. It’s possible to have faith in God and still be afraid. 

Faith doesn’t have to be blind, in order for it to be powerful. In fact, I would say it is even more powerful in times of fear, than ever. James, Jesus’ brother said, “Faith without works is dead.” Sometimes our most important work is believing and trusting in God even as the feeling of fear tingles up our spine. 

Life is scary. We don’t have to pretend we don’t feel it.

Life is hard. Life is scary. We don’t have to pretend we don’t feel it. But having faith means we can take all of our feelings of fear to God. That through prayer, we can unload all our concerns about COVID-19, our life struggles, my dad’s cancer, and trust that He is going carry us through this time. 

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t admit your fears?

What does living out your faith mean to you? 

*Answering readers questions is a new thing for me, but I’d love to do it more. If you have a question you’re struggling with this season, feel free to email me here. 

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