For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
Examine the verse in Second Timothy. What sort of spiritual gifts has God given us? That’s right… a spirit of power, and a spirit of love, and a spirit of a sound mind. Notice that God has NOT given us the spirit of fear. Satan, that great deceiver, encourages and stokes up fear in our lives.
What are some of your fears? Afraid you might look or sound stupid? Are you afraid of being embarrassed? Are you afraid that you might be getting some disease? Are you afraid that grief will crush you? Are you afraid that you are damaged beyond hope of forgiveness because of addiction or sin? Satan uses fear to attack all of us; he would love to see us cower in hopelessness and despair. Did you watch the video with this post? Satan’s big dog of fear looks meaner and really, really REAL, but it has no more bite than my little paper illusion.
I realize that all of us have very real challenges in our lives. Some are bigger than others, but we all have stuff we go through. The bottom line is that GOD gives us the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Guess what you have to reject to accept fear?!? All you need is a tiny seed of FAITH to grow God’s spirit of power, love and sound mind in your life. Write down the verse (2 Timothy 1:7) and carry it with you… read it… speak it… and believe it. After all, it IS God’s Word.
I once had a friend tell me two things about fear:
Fear knocked at the door, FAITH answered, and there was nobody there.
And:
The acronym for FEAR is: False Evidence Appearing Real.
If you let it, this verse from Second Timothy is like a seed that can grow into so very much more! It can grow to touch your worship, your study, your outreach, your giving, your life, your family, your community, and the world. Do you think God is stingy with what He has given us? How much power do you have faith to use?
Blessings with all the power of God’s spirit of love…
YBIC, Dave
I was finally able to see the video last night on another computer. Clever how what appears to be forward is actually backwards, an optical illusion. I used to live in great fear of little things (now I realize they were little) but as I grow in fellowship with Jesus I realize He is always with me, and that realization and conversation with Him allays fears as I turn to Him.
ReplyDeleteI come back to this once in a while. Overall I am not fearful, but there are times when something appears too much for me to handle. Then I remember this (I am a very visual person so visual things stick with me). And I remember a song a friend of mine wrote that says "Put It in the Hands of the Lord."
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