If you grew up Adventist, obedience often came packaged with a side of anxiety.
Did I say the right thing in Sabbath School?
Did I pray correctly before dinner?
Did I avoid the wrong snack, watch, or conversation?
Faith was supposed to be freeing, but it sometimes felt like walking a tightrope over a pit of judgment — one misstep away from divine disappointment.
Somewhere along the way, obedience became fear. Rules weren’t just guidance; they became chains. Devotion wasn’t just love; it became a performance. And the quiet, life-giving God we were taught to trust sometimes felt distant behind a curtain of “do this, don’t do that.”
But here’s the revelation: faith doesn’t require fear.
Faith is still obedience, but of a different kind. One that grows from trust instead of terror. One that says, “I follow because I love, not because I’m afraid.”
Untangling faith from anxiety means showing up imperfectly and realizing that God is not tallying your mistakes like a ledger. It means Sabbath isn’t a test, but a gift. It means your prayers are conversations, not auditions.
Fear doesn’t strengthen obedience — understanding, love, and trust do.
Faith without fear doesn’t remove responsibility. It restores freedom.
So obey. But not because you must.
Obey because your soul remembers that faith is meant to lift, not crush.
Still Adventist.
Still committed.
Just no longer afraid.
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