Faith Not to Fear

Living in fear is not living at all. And I've decided that I won’t do it anymore. No longer will I allow fear to keep me from experiencing the life that God has blessed me with. No longer will I be afraid, and allow my life to pass me by. Because I am blessed, right here and now. I am provided for, right here and now. I am loved, right here and now. And all of this is proof of God’s goodness and faithfulness. All of this is proof that He will continue to bless me in the future. So today, I choose to trust my Creator. I am laying my fears at His feet, and in faith, I will depend on Him.

Faith is not the absence of fear; it’s trusting God in the midst of it.

In this life we will have troubles. We will be tested. There is no way for us to escape the difficulties that we face. We will have plenty of opportunities to fear, but we must understand that the presence of fear doesn’t mean that we can’t also have faith. In the midst of every trial, we have a choice to make. Will we allow our fear to stop us from walking in purpose? Will we allow our fear to rob us of joy and peace? Or will we choose to have faith that the Overcomer will enable us to overcome as well.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT)

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (1 John 5:4 ESV)

We overcome the world through faith.

Our faith is what enables us to defeat the fear that we face. Not faith in ourselves, but faith in God. He has proven himself to us over and over again. The very fact that we are here, is proof that we don’t need to fear the future. If God brought us this far, He will most definitely continue to lead us towards His promise.

What promise is He leading you towards? What vision has He given you for your future? Whatever it is, cling to it…walk towards it…no matter what your current situation looks like. He will bring the vision to pass. There’s no denying that fact. His word never fails.

“...For the word of God will never fail.” (Luke 1:37 NLT)

But, we must remember that we have an adversary whose focus is to thwart the purposes of God. This means that he will do whatever he can to prevent God’s word from coming to pass. But he has no real power over us. In fact, we have been given all authority over him.

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19 ESV)

So, if the enemy has no power or authority over us, how does he work in our lives?...

Through our minds. He understands that he is no match for our God, so he tries his best to keep us from understanding just how powerless he is. And one of the ways he does this is through the spirit of fear.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)

According to scripture, fear is a spirit, but one that God will never give us. So we must ask ourselves this question:

If God doesn’t give us the spirit of fear, where does it come from?

It comes from the one that seeks to prevent us from experiencing the spirit that God has given us– the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

Fear is not just a feeling. Fear has purpose.

The enemy uses the spirit of fear to cause us to be afraid to walk in the will of God. We’ve all experienced this before. God wants us to have peace, but we spend our days worrying about the future. God has a calling for us to walk in, but we fear that we may not be qualified. God wants us to have joy, but our fear of the future keeps us from living in the blessing of today. When we experience fear in our lives, we must not brush it off as just feelings. Fear has a purpose.

What has the enemy been trying to keep you from? Has he been trying to keep you from walking in your calling? Has he been trying to keep you from stepping out in faith? Has he been trying to get you to quit waiting on God? If so, ask yourself this question:

What is my adversary afraid of?

You see, the enemy only attacks what he is afraid of. He only sends fear, when he’s afraid that you will prevail. If he has sent the spirit of fear after you, you do not need to be afraid of him…because he is afraid of you. He is afraid that you will find out who you really are. He is afraid that you will find purpose, walk in it, and win your battle. He is afraid of the glory that God will receive when you see victory. He is afraid of you, so do not be afraid of Him. You already have the victory…you just have to walk in it. So how can you do this?

We fight the spirit of fear through spiritual warfare.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12 NLT)

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:13‭-‬17 NLT)

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. (Ephesians 6:18 NLT)

We are fighting a spiritual battle, so we need to use spiritual weapons. And according to scripture, our spiritual weapon (our sword) is the word of God. We must declare the truth of the word of God over our lives. This is how we win. The enemy can not prevail against it.

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7 NLT)

We can see evidence of this in Matthew 4 when Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus did not use mere words to defeat the enemy; He used the word of God. And if we want to prevail through testing as Jesus did, we must do the same. We must not think that we can win this battle without using the same tools our savior used. We have to pick up our weapons…we must use them.

Gratitude is also a powerful weapon against the spirit of fear.

Gratitude has a way of canceling the grip that the spirit of fear has on us. Maybe we’re afraid that we don’t have the skills to walk in purpose. Maybe we’re afraid that we don’t have enough to make it through. Maybe we’re afraid that God won’t come through in our situation. But when we take a second and think of all that God has done for us, we are able to have faith that He will continue to keep His word.

It is impossible to experience gratitude and fear at the same time.

If you are walking in gratitude, you are preventing the spirit of fear from operating in your life.

What has God done for you? Has he rescued you from your past? Has he healed your brokenness? Maybe He has healed a relationship, or given you hope for the future. Your testimony is your evidence that He will continue to bless you and lead you towards His promise. Today, you have a decision to make. Will you allow fear to continue to keep you from purpose? Will you allow fear to steal your joy and peace? Or will you take a stand? Will you have the faith not to fear. Because faith is not a feeling, faith is a choice. Faith is making the decision to lay your fears at the feet of Jesus, and believing that He will carry you to promise. You are already victorious through Him. Claim that victory, and walk in it.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me that you have not given me the spirit of fear, but you have given me the spirit of power, love, and self discipline. I know that because you are for me, no one can be against me. But I know that I have an enemy whose goal is to keep me from bringing glory to your name. And today, I have been reminded that he has no power over me, because you have given me all power and authority over him. But in order for me to be victorious, I must use the weapons that you have given me in your word. So today, I declare that I am done living in fear, I will use the power that you have given me. I will fight for your will to be done in my life. And I will remain grateful for what you have already done. Your faithfulness is proof that I have nothing to fear. Right now, I am making the decision to lay my fears at your feet. I know you will never fail me. I trust in you. In Jesus’ name, amen.