For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. - 2Ti 1:7
If fear is not from God then from who does it come? The answer is not always easily determined because fear can have its roots in many areas of our lives, from ancestors we never knew to childhood traumas, to demonic oppression. One thing for certain is fear is always used as a motivator of the devil in hopes of stopping or stalling us from fulfilling our God-given destiny.
Not all of our pre-purposed destinies are religious or fulfilled within the four walls of the church. Actually, most of us should be in the world participating in the release of the hope of Jesus Christ to a lost people. With that said, just because you are not “in ministry” doesn’t mean you don’t have a ministry. Everyone has a purpose in this world as a child of God, and a Christians purpose is to proclaim the praises of God (1Pe 2:9). We can only proclaim His praises if we are convinced of our identity in Christ and are bold in our faith. If we are unsure of who we are and who we belong to we will allow fear to rule us. Faithfulness is the opposite of fearfulness.
Fear is defined as a painful emotion or passion caused by an expectation of evil or the awareness of danger. Other words for fear are agitation, anxiety, nervousness, and uneasiness. Fear quenches faith, but faith believes and trusts in the Lord and His word. The 1828 MShaffer online dictionary describes the momentum of fear as fear, dread, terror, and fright. Often times the accelerator to fear is Satan. Fear is not only an emotion it is a demonic spirit and can be like cancer, once we give it room in our minds it can grow and consume us. Once fear hits the fright level, it can cause a person to run the opposite direction God is calling them to.
The Lord speaks a quietness in our souls when we allow Him. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” God knows what He is doing even when it looks like He is nowhere to be found. To be still is to cease to worry; it is to allow one’s soul to be quieted by the presence of the Holy Spirit even when it appears there is cause in the natural to worry. Worry shuts down the process of faith because it distracts us from the truth of God’s word. Jesus said not to worry because it cannot add a minute to our lives. We are set free to walk in peace and peace should be the umpire of our hearts. Fear involves torment and torment dissolves peace.
The words sound mind in 1 Timothy denotes a disciplined thought pattern, which is how we cast down arguments and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor 10:5). A mind that is filled with the word of God has weapons (scriptures) to draw from in times of fear. If we have not allowed our minds to be transformed by the reading of the word, then we will continue in the old thought patterns we were bound to before Christ was seated on the throne of our hearts.
We have an enemy who comes into our lives to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10) and for no other reason does he come. If we are aware of the presence of God and good, then we must not be blind to the presence of Satan and evil for they lurk at every corner looking to take a well-intentioned Believer off course. We must submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7.
I have admittedly struggled with fear of various kinds all of my life to the point of being diagnosed with Agoraphobia which is basically a fear to leave the house. I grew up in a highly dysfunctional and abusive home environment whereby fear was used as a ruler to keep us in order. Eventually, I rebelled and opened the door to lawlessness on top of being filled with a spirit of fear. You might say I became a magnet for demonic entities. As the fear grew my rational mind became more and more irrational leaving me a mentally crippled mess for several years. Thank God I gave my life over to Him through Jesus Christ and as I began to read the word the healing started. I have been set free from “Agoraphobia” but I still have to take every thought captive, and when the enemy throws an image at me that would lead me to fear, I must trust God and believe that if that fearful thing came to pass He is still my strong tower. This is the way to victory over fear; aggressively saying no to the father of lies and yes to the Father of Truth!
There is a natural fear that can motivate us to stay away from danger, such as touching fire knowing we will be burned, but fear can fool us into thinking it is our friend by acting as a false protector. An individual might use fear as a way to keep them from social activities or from pursuing something outside of their “normal” boundaries because they believe that if they stepped outside of their comfort zone, it might be dangerous. The mind bound by fear can rationalize all kinds of things to make the person feel like they are making a “safe” decision when they are really hiding behind fear.
Fear can also make people sick because fear is a stressor for the body and stress can cause damage in multiple ways to the body. Henry W. Wright authors a book called “A More Excellent Way; Be in Health.” His book list hundreds of diseases and their spiritual roots, many of which are rooted in fear.
Mr. Wright states “the hypothalamus gland is the facilitator and the originator of the following life circumstances: all expressions of fear, anxiety, stress, tension, panic, panic attacks, phobia, rage, anger and aggression. These are all released and facilitated by this one gland. It only responds to you emotionally and spiritually. The hypothalamus is called the “brain of the endocrine system,” but it is not a brain. It is a gland. It is a responder to thought. It is a responder to the environment of your life. It will only produce what is happening deep within the recesses of your soul and your spirit.” A More Excellent Way by Henry W. Wright pgs. 193-194
If Mr. Wright is right, and I tend to agree with him and his writings, then we have a ferocious foe that must be stopped before he stops us! It is time we awaken from the slumber of ignorance and take our lives back from fear.
Let’s pray,
Heavenly Father, thank You for the love, power, and sound mind that I have been given. I repent for embracing a spirit of fear and ask that today You empower me in the war on fear! Help me God to believe Your word is true and is a hammer that breaks the yoke to fear. Help me use Your word as the fire that it is so that I may be purified from all fearful thoughts and help me use the sword You have provided with as Your word to cut the head off of the giant of fear. I admit I have tried many of the world’s way to combat fear, but I’m ready to submit to You and resist the devil in every area of fear today. In Jesus name, I declare freedom from fear! Amen