Wouldn't everything in life be easier if we didn't have to deal with fear? There are, of course, healthy fears that alert us to danger..but there is a debilitating fear that satan tries to put on us that is intended to keep us from having the power, love and sound mind that God wants us to have, and says that we do have.
If you have ever struggled, as I have, with anxiety or fear, you are familiar with the worry, stress and feeling of heaviness that comes with it. Many people struggle with fear that has an obvious source. They wonder why they are always afraid and can't seem to change. Others spend much time worrying about what "might" happen..and all of the "what ifs"..what if I can't pay the bills..what if something happens to my child..what if something happens to me. The list of possible tragedies is endless and can keep people bound up and miserable every day of their lives.
There are many serious things going on in the world, and we do need to be aware and prepared..but we also need to learn to RESIST fear when it rises up against us. II Timothy tells us that "God did not give us a SPIRIT of fear..but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind". In the amplified Bible, that verse says, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing, and fawning fear), but He has given us a Spirit of power, and of love, and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control".
I think that we often think of fear as an emotion..but according to this verse, fear is a spirit! I think fear is one of the things that christians are grossly tormented with. At every opportunity, the devil will whisper in your ear, telling you that God has forgotten you, or that there is no hope. Some folks are intimated with fear at every turn.
But Jesus said "All things are possible to him who believes" Mark 9:23. I believe that there is nothing worse for the enemy than an on-fire Bible-believing Christian who is FEARLESS. God didn't promise us that this life would be easy or that we would never face problems and challenges...but I believe that the outcome of whatever we face..whatever we go through..depends on whether we trust God, or give in to fear.
Psalm 23:4 says, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." The psalmist David said that he walked THROUGH the valley. When we fear or become afraid, we can be sure that's not God at work. When the enemy can trick us into believing that God is angry with us, or wants to punish us, or doesn't care what we are going through, and we allow those thoughts to start filling our mind, that is how we can begin to lose the battle..but God IS love! Those words can never be said often enough..and God LOVES YOU!!! Fear is a spirit, that must be confronted. It should be confronted HEAD ON. We must proclaim the Word of God and command fear to leave! So the next time fear knocks on your door, send faith to answer it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment