2 Timothy 1:7 (King James Version)
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Where are the brave men and women? Men of steel, the courageous fellows, the lions of our day? Men, who killed bears and tigers with their bare hands, topple giants, conquered kingdoms, administered justice, who shut the mouth of lions, quenched the fury of flames, escaped the edge of swords, whose weakness were turned into strength and became powerful in battle routing foreign armies. Men, who were tortured for their faith, faced jeers, flogged, put in chains and imprisoned? Men who were put to death by being dragged to pieces, fried in oil, stoned, sawed in half and beheaded by the sword? The extraordinary men with extraordinary faith who moved mountains in their day? Brave men are men of faith and men of purpose, with unshakable belief in the one and only true God, Jehovah!
Little faith always produces great fear (Matthew 8:26).When we lose our purpose in life, we give room to fear. Faith and purpose always goes together hand-in-hand. Brave men are men of purpose, who have discovered what to die for in this life, rather than wallow in the valley of despair. To these brave men, fear is imaginary and doesn’t exist in the real world; so they act in spite of their fears. So what is fear then?
Fear: This is a paralysing feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger. Other words closely related to fear are fright, dread, terror, horror, panic, alarm, dismay, consternation, trepidation. Let’s take a look at the associated words closely:
Fright is the sudden, usually momentary, great fear:
Dread is the strong fear, especially of what one is powerless to avoid:
Terror is the intense, overpowering fear:
Horror is a combination of fear and aversion or repugnance
Panic is sudden frantic fear, often groundless:
Alarm is fright aroused by the first realization of danger.
Consternation is often paralyzing, characterized by confusion and helplessness.
Trepidation is dread characteristically marked by trembling or hesitancy.
Given the increasing climate of war, terrorism and natural disasters, and the associated paralysing effects of fear in the face of trauma many people especially Christians have given up all hope. Too many people take their cues from the news and these days, the news feed fear. What we hear is more and more bad news about job losses, cuts in pay, stock market downturns and negative forecasts. Regrettably bad news sells more. God's people can conform to the world and allow fear to limit what God wants to do in, through, with and for them. But God is calling us to live in faith, not in fear.The just shall live by faith (Hebrews 10:38).We need to learn more of what it means to obey the command "fear not" even in light of a shaky economy and all the negative media reports. We are living in an unfriendly time, an unfriendly environment where governments aren't "pro-Christ", and are increasingly becoming unfriendly to the gospel and the Christian faith. Therefore overcoming your fears is a major step to victory as a reigning Child of God.
Roots and Effects of Fear
2 Timothy 1:7- For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. This defines the root of fear, as not coming from God. Fear doesn't come from God but rather emanates from the kingdom of darkness, from unbelief and lose of purpose. Fear is a spirit sent from hell. Fear makes a big thing out of nothing. Fear will cost you more than you can pay, take you further than you can come back and keep you longer than you’re willing to stay. God never gave us a spirit of fear, but of power, purpose, love and a sound mind! Fear will always prevent you from reaching the Promised Land, discourage you from fulfilling your God given vision and make you hopeless without any purpose. Fear will grind your destiny to a halt. Fear will close the door of grace and usher you into the gates of disgrace! Fear comes from sin and sin comes from disobedience ( Genesis 3:10). Fear gets into your spirit through the gate of your ears and eyes and finally forces you to make a negative declaration with your mouth, so that the devil can destroy you with your own mouth. To guard against fear, you need to guard against the information that you feed on, because every information that gets to you will either inform or deform you!
Lesson: Purpose in your heart that you will undertake something that you've never done before concerning your dream in life. Act out your fears and don’t let it stop you from doing what you desire most, your God given vision and purpose in life. Break the back of fear once and for all with an unshakable faith in the LORD Almighty, and take a step of boldness, a step into victory! The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Scripture for meditation: Romans 8:15-17 -The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Prayer: Abba Father, thank you for your Spirit of Boldness, which conquers every spirit of fear in our spirit and life in general. Empower your people to see the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, think the unthinkable and do the impossible in the mighty name of Jesus Christ (Yeshua) , the anointed one. Father make your sons fearless souls, burning for your kingdom, just like John the Baptist, who was a burning lamp, and grant us victory over the world , Amen and Amen! Will a Strong fearless man or woman please stand up?
Comments from you: What verses or insights stand out to you in this reading? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
Shalom
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