When Faith Says, "Yes" but Fear Says, "No"

“Then I said unto you, ‘Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, He shall fight for you . . .’” (Deuteronomy 1:29–30a)

Only Caleb and Joshua, of the twelve men sent to spy out the land of Canaan, could enter the Promised Land. Why? Because their faith said, “Yes.” They believed God would do what seemed impossible. The other ten men were afraid, and their doubt in God’s protection capability spread like a disease. They and all adults who believed them missed entering the land of promise. Why? Because their fear said, “No.” They failed to trust God for deliverance from the giants and the strength of the people in the land (Numbers 13–14).

When a car accident critically injured our five-year-old grandson, the test of faith began. The physicians prepared us, and fear shouted, “He’s going to die.” But in the stillness of a moment, God whispered, “Timothy is going to be better than before.” Dare we believe God when the doctors said he would live as a “vegetable” if he survived surgery? We chose to trust in God—he survived the surgery. Difficult days of recovery followed; many were long, challenging, and tiring. The waiting shook our faith to the core, but there was no doubt about what God said, and God would not lie. We held fast, believing God for a miracle, though what we saw and heard screamed a different message.

During those forty days of hospitalization, we witnessed miracle after miracle by a gracious God taking care of His little child and His grown children. Though God didn’t cause the accident, He used the event to test and strengthen our faith and walk with Him. We learned to wait on God and praise Him amid the storm; our patience was put to the test and stretched. Not one moment was wasted (Romans 8:28).

News of the accident was twenty-seven years ago but as vivid today as though it were only yesterday. God kept His word. Our Timothy is better than before—God’s better. Praise God: the physicians were wrong about his diagnosis. He is not a “vegetable” but a young man who knows, loves, and serves the One who delivered him from the hand of death. Though he faces challenges every day, the love of God oozes from him and splashes onto everyone in his path. When fear and faith speak to you, choose the God we serve who goes before us and fights for us. Great is His faithfulness. Timothy is living proof.