Sparks From The Gospel Anvil
2 Timothy 1:7 e live in a world of fear and fear is a powerful thing. Whether you know it or not everyone is afraid of something. We are in the midst of the foxholes of fear having our emotions shell-shocked by different events that constantly surround us. The confident spirit that once prevailed has been replaced by the spirit of fear and uncertainty. Instead of the bold, confident, One Nation Under God, seems to be one nation under fear. We live in a generation in which we are fearful of man and fearless of God. Yet, the scriptures tell us that “the fear of the Lord tendeth to life and he that hath it shall abideth satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil” (Proverbs 19:23).
But if we can discern the author of our fear and understand the W action of our fear, then we would have a better position to choose the alternative to our fear. To begin with, the devil is the author of all fear. Paul tells Timothy that, “God is not the author of fear…” so if God is not the author or source of our fear, who is left? Either our fear is self-inflicted or is a great weapon of the devil. The devil uses fear to distract and destroy the testimony of many Christians. Maybe this past week the devil has used fear to disrupt your thoughts. Don’t be afraid of him!
Many Christians are like the Israelites about to enter the promised land in Numbers 13, until they saw the giants that possessed the land. If you remember, only two tribes entered the promised land, Caleb and Joshua. Also, fear gives us the exact opposite to what God wants to give us. When given the chance to run its course fear can do terrible things to us. Physically it steals our energy; spiritually, fear can capture and dominate our feelings, crowding out healthier emotions such as love, joy and peace. In other words, if the devil can control our emotions, he renders us ineffective because the fruit of The Holy Spirit cannot shine through and mentally, fear completely takes us over if allowed to run its full course. Just like weeds in a garden, fear grows quickly and there are many that suffer disorders that come from fear and a state of fearfulness. What kind of actions are many taking?
The Apostle Paul reminds us that our alternative to fear is found in God. Two questions that are imperative to this conclusion is this. Does God care? Does God have power? The Bible says yes to both questions! God does care about our fears, there are 365 fear nots or be not afraid. And there are only two roads that are traveled in life, the road marked with fear or the road marked with faith.
Romans 8:31 tells us, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” and also, 1 John 4:18 reminds us that “there is no fear in love; but perfect (that is Holy, Divine) love casts out fear – because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect (Holy, Divine) in love.”
Faith in God also brings peace of mind, Paul had written, under divine inspiration, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6,7).