The Decisions of Fear

1 Samuel 27:1

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

As great a man as David was, and as much of a man of faith that we see him to be, he still had to deal with fear. David let this moment, when Saul was going after his life, to allow fear to direct his decisions. The decisions that fear caused David to make were bad decisions. David had no business running to the Philistines. The same God that took care of David when he faced Goliath could have taken care of him, even though Saul had surrounded him a couple of times and had put a contract on his life to have him killed.

The decisions of fear always lead to the wrong decisions. You cannot live in fear and expect God to use you mightily because fear and faith are opposites. Let me show you the pathway of fear’s decisions and what they will do to you.

First, fear will always cause you to make bad decisions. If you search through your life, you will always find that every bad decision you made was because fear somehow influenced that decision. You cannot make good decisions and live in fear. Fear is certainly the easier way to live, but it is also the most stressful way to live. If you want to avoid bad decisions, then do not let fear influence your decisions.

Second, fear always tells you to quit. Many people have quit because of fear. Many people looked at what they were facing and thought it was not worth going forward, so the only decision they came to was to quit. You can listen to fear and quit, but you will never know what could have happened had you moved forward by faith. Fear is the biggest obstacle that wastes potential. If you don't want to waste the potential that God has placed in your life, you must never allow fear to influence your decisions.

Third, fear always tells you to run. Running away has never resolved one of life's issues. If you listen to faith, you will face life's issues and resolve them. Running from your problems does not keep your problems from coming after you. At some point in your life, if you are going to make something out of your life, you must stop running because of fear, face your problems through faith, and realize that God will help you to overcome those problems if you don't run.

Fourth, fear always leads to compromise. Many people have compromised because fear told them that it is the only way to make it. You may compromise what you believe, but you'll never know what God could have done through your life by faith. I have yet to see a person of faith accept compromise’s offer; however, every compromiser has compromised because of fear. If you don't want compromise to be a part of your life, then you must not allow fear to influence your decisions.

Fifth, fear always leaves a person with no life testimony. The greatest waste of a life is because someone lived in fear. When it comes to the end of life, those who live by fear will have nothing to take with them to eternity. However, those who live by faith will find that many things will follow them into eternity when they die because faith results in eternal works being accomplished. If you want your life to count, then you must not allow fear to influence your decisions.