Faith Over Fear

Welcome to the D.A.D. Approach where we break down biblical principles with an easy three letter acronym: D.A.D. 

Decision.

Action.

Dedication.

Decision: I choose faith.

You have to make a DECISION. Seems obvious right? Either you choose faith or you want to choose faith, but you’re still scared. So let’s dig a little deeper. 

How do we FULLY decide to choose faith? This is where we have to lean on the promises of God.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

If God is for you, then who can be against you? No one. 

Making that first step of faith is never easy, but it is NEVER done alone. God always walks along with us like a father and his child.  

When I walk outside with my son Noah every evening, he is always close to me. We walk side by side down the sidewalk. Sometimes we run through our neighbor’s sprinkler system to cool down from the Texas heat. That’s always fun! Sometimes he rides his little bike or likes to push his little brother James. No matter what we’re doing on our walks, we always walk in the same direction and I am always on guard to protect him in case he wanders from the sidewalk. God is the same for us. 

God walks with us. His eye is always on us and His desire is for us to walk in the same direction as Him. He is there to nudge us in the right direction if we wander away from His path for us

Our children don’t walk outside alone just as we do not walk in faith alone. They are protected. We are protected. When you decide to choose faith, remember that you also just chose your walking buddy…Jesus. 

Action: I will Make Room

You made the decision to choose faith, but now you have to take ACTION. Here’s the part where many guys get stuck. 

You’ve chosen faith, but have no idea what that looks like. 

To walk out your faith, you have to make room.

What does that mean? Let me give you an example. 

Rosi and I used to live in a small apartment when Noah was 7 months old. We had just started a Christian t-shirts business and had shirts everywhere! Poor Noah was in a maze on the floor. He couldn’t crawl and he had no idea which end the milk was. 

It wasn’t until we moved a month later to a bigger house where he actually began to crawl. Why? Because he had room to move. There were no more obstacles in his way. The same goes for walking out our faith. 

You have to get rid of the negative thinking or worries about your situation. I promise you those things will never help you, but slow you down. Clear your mind and clear the way so you have room to move and walk out your faith. 

Dedication: I will keep walking

You have to stay Dedicated. In Matthew 14:22-23, we see Peter walking on water. When he took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink and needed to be rescued. 

What if he would have kept his eyes on Jesus and kept walking? What if he was dedicated and followed through at that moment? 

He probably would have walked on water with Jesus all the way back into the boat…we will never know. 

Unfortunately, if we are not dedicated, we will not reach our goal and will only imagine what could have been. 

So many times when I was a teacher working on lesson plans at home, my wife would say, “Matt, I’m going to bring you home.” She was working on our christian t-shirts business and was determined not to stop until we could afford to bring me home. Now, I am sitting on my couch writing this encouraging word at home because my wife saw her goal through. She was truly dedicated. She kept walking. 

Walking in faith is not a two steps forward one step back process. It’s not a race either. One day at a time. One step at a time. 

Time to be a D.A.D.

For us dads to walk in faith, we must choose faith, make room, and stay dedicated to walking along an un-knowing journey with an all-knowing God. We are never walking out faith alone. God is always walking with us. 

When I wear my Faith Over Fear shirt, I often meditate on my my own crossroads with faith over fear.  I try to make sure I am progressing in my walk of faith and not allowing fear to block my path. 

My son only recognizes some letters on my shirt like F or H. Soon though, he will ask what does my shirt mean. 

How great is it when our children come to us with curiosity and present an empty cup to be filled? It brings me joy to know that I can fill my son’s cup with faith and help him triumph over fear. 

I do not know what obstacles you are facing right now. What I do know is that you will never progress in your faith over fear if you don’t man up and be a D.A.D. 

Prayer, 

Father in Heaven, I want have faith over fear. I choose faith and have the desire to take action and be dedicated. I know you are with me. Help me when I stumble and forever guide. My my commitment to you carry through   

Check out our Faith Over Fear Christian Shirts & our Faith Collection for the whole family. When you wear this christian t-shirt, you will make it known to your children that you are a father who chooses Faith Over Fear. If you know someone who desires to live out Faith Over Fear and would like to gift them with one of our Christian shirts, please share this article with them so they can have a D.A.D. strategy to overcoming fear with faith.