“Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Romans 14:23 (NIV) Imagine how Joseph must have felt when his fiancée became pregnant before they were married. The gossip in their small town would have been intense. It would have affected his family, his business, and his plans for the future. And so he decided to quietly break off the engagement to save Mary from disgrace. “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’” (Matthew 1:20 NIV). Joseph could have missed the greatest blessing of his life if he had worried about the disapproval of other people. Instead, he chose to obey God and listen to his voice instead of the voices around him. Joseph decided that God’s approval mattered more than the approval of anyone else. The world is a pretty negative place to live in today. It’s easy to feed our minds with fearful things from the media, other people’s opinions, and even the lies we tell ourselves. But the Bible says fear is the opposite of faith. Romans 14:23 says, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (NIV). To move out of fear and into faith, I need to change the ideas I allow into my mind. There are two things I need to do. First, limit the amount of negative talk I'm consuming through the news and social media. It’s one thing to be informed; it’s another to let it negatively affect the way I see other people, the world, and even myself. Second, I need to start hanging out with people of faith. This is one of the reasons why the church is so important. When I'm fearful, other believers can remind me of my purpose and God’s goodness. When I become part of a church family and commit to fellowship, the voices of encouragement are louder than the voices that cause fear. Like Joseph, I need to choose to listen to God’s voice. As I do, my faith in his promises will grow so there is no room for fear. In summary: Fear and faith cannot coexist, and that living by faith means choosing God’s approval over the opinions and negativity of the world. Like Joseph, who risked public disapproval by obeying God rather than listening to the voices around him, I am called to trust God even when fear, gossip, or uncertainty threaten to derail me. Romans 14:23 underscores that anything not rooted in faith leads me away from God’s best, which means I must be intentional about what I allow into my mind—limiting fear-driven input from media and surrounding myself with people of faith who encourage and remind me of God’s promises. When I consistently listen to God’s voice and stay connected to a faith-filled community, my trust in Him grows stronger and fear loses its grip. Bottom Line: When I choose God’s approval over people’s opinions and intentionally guard what influences my mind, faith replaces fear—and obedience opens the door to God’s best work in my life. Next Step: This means choosing one voice to amplify and one fear to silence—this week. Share one faith-forward insight publicly (LinkedIn is the right place for you right now) that names the tension between fear and faith and models what it looks like to listen to God’s voice instead of the crowd. Invite conversation, not validation—end the post with a reflective question that helps others identify where fear is influencing their decisions. Pay attention to obedience, not outcomes. Your win isn’t engagement; it’s faithfulness. “I’m learning that faith grows when God’s voice gets louder than the noise around me.” Then take one sentence to say how you’re practicing that, and one sentence to invite others to reflect. Why this matters: This step moves me from internal conviction to external leadership. I'm not just learning to live by faith—you’re helping others do the same by example. My next step isn’t bigger—it’s braver. |
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