For God has not Given us the Spirit of Fear.... - Alpha Signs & Designs

 

 

Fear did not exist in man or woman until the fall of man, the disobedience and rebellion of our former parents, Adam and Eve. No fear in perfection as created by God. In the beginning, as God created all that there is it was the closest thing to heaven. Imagine that.

But man and woman thought they knew better than God. Listening, seduced by lies exactly as everyone is throughout history and today. Today there are more lies and liars than ever before being adopted as truth. Imagine that.

No fear as we were created, meant to be by God.

Fear originated in us from our sin, our disobedience, our rebellion against God, and our turning to Satan and his lies. Satan is the creator of fear, of lies, of death, and destruction.

Why follow him? Let us understand clearly where fear comes from, who brought it into the world, into our lives. Until we sinned we didn’t fear the Lord our Creator. It was all peace, joy, love, reverence, obedience, and life as intended. Our fear of God entered when we knew within what we had done to the One Who loved us most of all, made all wonderful things possible, and made life possible.

Yet we went to the darkness, the lie, and death. And fear.

Imagine that.

When fear enters? Pause to remember, realize where it comes from and why. Obedience and running to God, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, to God’s Word will ally all fear.

Fear not, indeed…if in the Light, the Truth, and the Way which is Jesus Christ the Lord…the Life.

Read on…

Ken Pullen, Thursday, October 321st, 2024

 

 

God Has Not Given Us a Spirit of Fear

 

Greg Laurie

Harvest

AUDIO

 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

—2 Timothy 1:7 

 

LISTEN

 

You don’t have to look hard to find reasons to fear. We live in a crazy world. I can’t think of a scarier time than the present, quite frankly. The 24/7 news cycle and social media amplify our sense of danger by bombarding us with images of the latest mass shooting, a Chinese hypersonic missile, or yet another strain of COVID. And that doesn’t even take into account our personal triggers. We all know what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night and be gripped by panic, fear, or anxiety.

What we also need to know is that we serve a God who is eternal, sovereign, all-powerful, and loving. He is in control. That’s why Paul wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7 NLT).

Mark 5 tells the story of a demon-possessed man who terrorized people in the region of the Gerasenes. He lived in the tombs and was so powerful that no chains could hold him. Day and night, he cried out and cut himself with stones. He was the stuff of nightmares. Yet when Jesus approached him, it was the demons inside the man who were terrified—because they realized they were powerless against the Lord.

You probably know that when the angel announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds in the field, his first words were “Don’t be afraid!” or “Fear not!” depending on your translation (Luke 2:10). But did you know that “Don’t be afraid”—or words to that effect—appears more than 350 times in the Bible? That’s almost one “Don’t be afraid” for every day of the year. Obviously, it’s a message God wants us to take away from His Word.

The angel’s next sentence explains why: “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people” (Luke 2:10 NLT). Our goal is to experience God’s joy to the fullest. But fear robs us of that joy. It prevents us from experiencing life as God wants us to. The condition of joy is to let go of fear.

First Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (NLT). You choose to have joy. You don’t wait for it to come if and when your fears go away. It doesn’t matter whether you feel it. Paul was in prison when he wrote, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 nlt). He was able to say, “I’m choosing to rejoice in the Lord, regardless of my very scary circumstances.” You can make the same choice.

Are you struggling with fear or anxiety? Remember God’s words from Isaiah 43:2: “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” (NLT).

Let go of your fear. Give it to God. Walk boldly and courageously in the path He’s laid out for you.