Is it just me, or do you also deal with various kinds of fear? There are 365 "Do Not Fears" in the Bible, and yet I still have been dealing with fear this week. I know 2 Timothy 1:7 clearly says "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." (KJV) The NIV says it more gently: "God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power, love, and self discipline." I relate more to the KJV in this instance. It's fear that I have struggled with, and fear tends to erase my "sound mind." Timidity hasn't been my issue, but fear has kept me buried far too long.
I've overcome many of my fears: the fear of public speaking, the fear of public opinion, the fear of man, the fear of failure/success etc. I even confronted my fear of water and learned to swim this summer. But this week found me facing fear all over again. You see, this week I had to face the dreaded evil tube...the MRI! In spite of the tranquilizer the Dr. gave me, I still freaked and had to resort to an IV of something that caused me to sleep during the procedure. I'm a grown woman full of the Holy Spirit, and a simple medical examination caused me to panic. Ridiculous!
I know fear is not from God and yet in this situation it rose up and tried to take control. Last night I dreamed of being put into the MRI, and awoke in a panic. However, God is faithful. When I fell asleep again the Holy Spirit rehearsed scriptures in my dream. How awesome is that? The last one was Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers (and that means me, too), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable---if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things. ... and the God of peace will be with you."
God gave me a strategy for deliverance from fear! Think on the TRUTH. By focusing on the Truth of all God is and does, fear is eliminated from my mind and peace floods my spirit.
Satan's only real weapon against us is fear and his battleground is our minds. If he can get us to fear, he can immobilize us and stop our effectiveness in the Kingdom of God. When we allow fear to rule our emotions it also rules our minds, and we align ourselves with the LIE that is satan. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy and his favorate way to accomplishe this is through fear.
1John 4:18 says "Perfect love drives out fear." The scripture goes on to say that we love because He first loved us! So why should we fear? His love covers all. We are His children, created for His good works. Romans 8:15 says: "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father."
Psalm 91:4-5 says: "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday."
That covers it all, doesn't it? Why should we fear when we have the Almighty Most High God as our shield and fortress!
If you have been dealing with fear, I pray a renewed focus for you today. May the Truth of God rule and reign as you align yourself with Him. Do Not Fear! The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty and is armed with strength! (Ps. 93)
Walk in the peace of God who never leaves you as you remain...
Focused On Him,
Ann
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Ann,
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how fear some times just overwhelms us and causes us to completely step outside God's will for our life, even as a Christian. I have always had a fear of public speaking for as long as I can remember and I find it interesting that God gives me things that I know he wants me to share with people, even our congregation and I find myself totally paralyzed at the thought; but it's almost like God is saying to me, "I'm going to get you over this if it takes everything I've got to get you there," you know? This has nothing to do with fear, but I've always been very self-conscious of my nose. I broke it when I was younger and then the nose gene has it all over my face. Anyway, God has given me a gift of smell to warn me (and others) of evil. I've actually sensed (smelled) the Spirit of Witchcraft, namely Rebellion. The gift of smelling evil was prophesied over me 5 years ago and if finally came to pass last year. Isn't that something, that He would use my nose, which I would change if I could, and have hated all my life, to use for Him? It's like He's telling me, I planned you perfectly for my kingdom and I don't make junk! I just get overwhelmed by how He continues to strengthen my weaknesses. Thanks Ann for all you do and it was such a pleasure to be able to blog with you...
Judy
Judy, you hit the subject 'right on the nose'!! God uses our weaknesses to show His strengths. He is our strength when we feel we are too weak to accomplish anything. Otherwise, we'd all be so arrogant that He wouldn't be able to do anything at all with us! Seems to me like He's a very wise, very grace-filled and loving God. He doesn't even refuse our worst, but adds His perfection to make us His best. Wow. Don't ya just love that?
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