Behind every Stay Lit Apparel design there’s a story. A journey as to why that particular thing, object or series of words made it onto a piece of Christian clothing.
This is a new series called ‘Behind the design’ where you can read all about those stories and get into the mind of the designer. So I thought I’d start with the first print I ever designed, faith over fear.
How It All Began
I’ll be honest, I’m afraid of pretty much everything. I’m a worrier, I inherited that from my mum. The one thing that always scares me the most is the future. It’s pretty daunting not knowing where you’re going, what you’re doing, what’s around the corner or what the next step is. To make matters worse, I find that all the plans I make for myself seem to slip away and get flipped and reversed in my reality 😩
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” I John 4:18
God’s original design didn’t include anxious fear. The perfect world He created had no reason in it for us to fear in the first place. There is no fear in love.
Sin on the other hand, now that’s another story. Once sin entered the world, there was doubt. This doubt caused us as humans to rethink what we knew to be true, to rethink the claims that God had given and instead of perfect love we were left with uncertainty, anxiety, worry and all the mental strains that manifest in between.
One good thing that follows uncertainty is choice. You are always presented with two options:
1. To trust
2. Not to trust
...and that’s where faith comes in.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” - Hebrews 11:1
I’ve learnt that faith is like love, it’s actually a choice. Faith is not a feeling, nor is it a natural, simple response to life either. It’s a conscious decision that you as a human being have the power to make.
Ellen G White puts it like this:
...I have to fight the good fight of faith everyday. I have to put to the stretch the powers of faith and not rely upon feeling, and act as though I knew the Lord heard me, and would answer me and bless me. Faith is not a happy flight of feeling, it is simply taking God at His word and believing, because God said He would do this... – This day with God, Chapter 1
There is no better way to describe it than just that!
The Design
I designed the faith over fear print as a reminder of that choice. You don’t have to be afraid, in fact there are so many places in the Bible that God has already told us just that.
“And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8
As cliche as this may sound, faith over fear was designed with myself in mind. Too often I allow myself to be freaked out by the things in my life I can’t control! I panic about things that don’t even matter and scare myself into a melt down. Yet the antidote is so simple, choose faith over fear.
I don’t know your story, I don’t know who’s even reading this, but whoever you are I hope that you’ve been encouraged to choose faith over fear starting right now.
How have you, through Christ been able to overcome your fears?
Share your tips, Bible verses and encouragement in the comment box below.