Fear! An unpleasant emotion caused by exposure to danger, and expectation of pain. Dread, terror, panic, fright, alarm and anxiety.
Fear is the opposite of faith, believing and love. Fear prevents us from living a full life, and living a life of faith and love. Fear is an obstacle in our way, and robs people of everything good in life. Fear is a thief.
The first time fear is mentioned in the bible is in Genesis 30:10 “But the Lord God called to the man, where are you and he answered, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid.” Guess who was in the middle of that event. The devil. He orchestrated it, he deceived and he caused fear to enter the world.
The devil loves for us to be bound by fear. He whispers there is so much to be afraid of. Aren’t you worried and afraid? “Look at all the terrible things happening”. Sickness, financial lack, disaster, pain, death, war, being injured and hurt, failure, loss, messing up, letting others down.
We can often feel harassed at every turn, with conflicts on the outside and fears within.What we think about is very powerful, and the devil wants us to be thinking fear! . What happens when we are fearful? We visualize fear, worry, disaster and loss. Our body tenses up, and it disrupts our normal breathing and psycho- physicality as we prepare ourselves for loss and failure.
However Jesus has a different vision for us. A vision of hope, love, peace and freedom from fear. He wants us to visualize and prepare for success, hope and goodness.
The bible says “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind”. (2 Timothy 1:7).
Part of the gift Jesus offers us in knowing Him is freedom from fear, anxiety, and worry. Jesus died to give us that freedom.
He encourages us over 365 times in the bible to “fear not”. We can take steps to overcoming fear and the destructive cycle fear by changing our focus:
Spend time in God’s presence. Psalm 91:1 says “He who dwells in the shelter of the most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty“. Shelter is the place where God’s presence is. We can find shelter in Him as we worship and pray and spend time with Jesus.
Acknowledge God – Who He is, His character and how He relates to us. Psalm 91:14-15 “acknowledge my name”. To acknowledge means to recognise, accept, admit the truth of.
God wants us to know Him and His character. That He is our peace, our healer, our provider, our shepherd, our righteousness. When you understand more of who He is, you’ll know what He is able to do for you.
When fear rises up, face it head on with what God says about your fear. He has given us authority and the ability to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Know what God says. What does it say in the bible about not being afraid? Find out in His word. He doesn’t promise and say things just for the sake of it. Know what your promises are. Know what you can stand firm on. God has given us the victory but we have to use it. Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities of darkness, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them by the Cross. (Colossians 2:15).
The devil and his lot will try and trick us into being afraid, to make us tremble at sickness, disease, lack, war and every other stinking thing he can think up. But take heart, strengthen your faith in God, know what He has done for you and stand firm. Jesus says, sickness must flee, tumors dissolve, rashes disappear, asthma vanish, cancer disappear, death give way to life, fear give way to trust and faith, and blessings flow.
“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, My God is with you, He will not fail you or forsake you.” (2 Corinthians 28:20)
Trust what God says about your life, more than the lies of the devil who only comes to steal from you. Don’t listen to Him for another second. Resist the devil with what God says about your life, and that liar must flee. (James 4:7)
“I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears”. (Psalm 34:4)
Have a vision for the future. What is God’s plan for your life?
God says you can change. You can live out your vision, instead of your memories.
You can tie yourself to your limitless potential instead of your limiting past.
The most drastic, and usually the most effective remedy for fear is action. Overcome your fears today by knowing who God is, what He had done for you, what He promises in His word, and what He says about your future.
Helen Keller, a remarkable women who overcame many obstacles said, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38)
Fear not!
Prayer: Thank you Lord for your great love for me, that rescues me from all my fear and troubles. I choose to live trusting you, to know your word and your promises and to resist fear in the name of Jesus. In Jesus name Amen.