199: Faith Over Fear

Hey hey! Welcome to episode 199 of Life on Fire. Fear and faith have something in common: they are both the belief in something you cannot see, hear or touch. And which one do most people choose? Fear. Which do you believe when you are faced with a challenge: faith or fear?

On this edition of Life on Fire, I’m sharing with you a recent talk I gave at my church about the importance of choosing faith over fear. Regardless of your religious beliefs, this conversation will stretch you and help you think…especially the next time life offers you a challenge and the opportunity to embrace faith, or give in to fear.

In this episode you’ll hear:

 

• How and why I surrendered, and what happened as a result. (1:30)
• What my knee surgery and recovery taught me about having faith over fear. (3:50)
• Every challenge is a what? (5:05)
• What experience has radically changed my life? (8:00)
• Why embracing suffering can produce positive results. (8:20)
• And so much more!

I’m so honored to bring this special show to you today. When my pastor asked me to speak at my church during the upcoming Sunday service, my immediate reaction was fear. I hadn’t ever done something like that before, how could I do it now?!

But then my faith kicked in, and I said I’m going to do this. And the result is what you’ll hear on this episode. I tell the story of my knee injury, surgery and recovery, and how I learned an invaluable lesson about having faith over fear.

You see, when my knee became injured I had just given myself over to God. Little did I know the tests that were immediately ahead of me! One Sunday I surrendered to follow the Holy Spirit, and not long after my knee gave out and I was told I would need surgery.

What I also didn’t know was that my insurance company had dropped my coverage, but had sent the letter to the wrong address. They had no trouble finding me to send me my bill, but they couldn’t mail me to tell me my coverage was gone!

But I chose to have faith, and I went ahead and hired the best surgeon to repair my knee and oversee my surgery. And even though I had the best surgeon, did all the physical therapy and exercises they told me to do…even though I did everything I was supposed to do, my knee wasn’t recovering.

They were telling me I’d never be able to do CrossFit again, may never be able to run the way I could prior to the surgery, things like that. Again I had to have faith, and I did. I decided to embrace my faith fully and started attending men’s prayer circle at 5am.

One morning at circle, a man shared how the group’s prayers had helped him heal his foot. My immediate response was “good for him, it won’t work for me.” But when I heard that thought I again knew I could give in to fear - the fear that I would pray for my knee and it still wouldn’t be healed - or I could have faith.

So I asked the man with the now-healed foot to pray for me. And I surrendered, gave myself over to the moment and allowed the Holy Spirit to work through me. It did. I went to CrossFit right after the men’s prayer circle and was able to squat again, something I hadn’t been able to do! In fact, I did the entire workout and my knee felt great. It was well and truly healed.

On episode 199, I share more about the power of faith over fear including the opportunity that lies within every challenge we face. Whatever your spiritual beliefs, this show is a great lesson in the power of faith over fear, and how having that faith can help you create your very own life on fire.

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