Overcoming Fear
2 Timothy 1:7
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
One of the greatest hindrances to the work of the LORD is fear. Fear will keep us from stepping out by faith because we are afraid what might happen if God doesn't come through. Fear will keep many Christians from soul winning because they are afraid of what people may say or do to them. Fear will keep many from doing the will of God for their lives because they are afraid they may fail in this endeavor that God has for them to do.
As Paul taught Timothy about the ministry, he instructed him that any spirit of fear that Timothy may have that is keeping him from doing God's work or commands is not given to him by God. This would mean that if the spirit of fear is not given by God, then the spirit of fear must come either from the Devil or from us. Now the truth is, the spirit of fear usually is caused by our lack of faith in God. The majority of the time the spirit of fear is not caused by the Devil, but by our imagination that tells us what will happen if we fail. As we see the spirit of fear does not come from God. We are taught what helps us to overcome this spirit of fear when it does come our way.
The first thing that helps us to overcome the spirit of fear is the power of God. When a person has the power of God upon their life, they will know that God can help them do whatever He has commanded them to do. All throughout the Bible we see people did extraordinary things through the power of God. It was only in the absence of God's power and the presence of the spirit of fear that even ordinary things could not be done. In Gideon's life, it was the spirit of fear that kept him from doing God's will. But when the power of God came upon him, he did the extraordinary in conquering the Midianite army with 300 men.
The next thing that helps us to overcome the spirit of fear is love. In 1 John 4:18 the Bible says that "...perfect love casteth out fear:..." You know, when you have a love for people, your love for people will overcome any fear that would keep you from helping those whom you love. A parent, because they love their child, will do extraordinary things that they would never do when their child is in danger. Why is this? Because their love for their child causes them to try and get their child out of harms way, even if whatever it takes to get them out of danger is something they were previously afraid of. When you love people you will find that love will drive any fear away.
The last thing we notice that drives out the spirit of fear is a "...sound mind." This sound mind is a mind that has proper discernment in making decisions. When you make wise decisions, you will not have fear in whatever you are doing. It is usually when you make decisions that you have no clue about that causes you to fear. When you know what you are doing, then you have no fear because you know what the outcome will be. You can only get this sound mind through the reading of the Word of God and getting the wisdom of God on your mind when making decisions.
Whatever the fear is that is keeping you from serving God, remember that the power of God, a love for people and proper decisions will drive that spirit of fear away. Don't let fear stop you from doing what God wants you to do. Overcome your spirit of fear by getting God's power, loving people and reading the Word of God.
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