“1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
All of us have been in the grip of fear at one time or another in our life. Did the fear win or was it overpowered by God in your life?
Fear of the unknown can take control of our emotions if we let it. God instructs us to pay attention to His teaching and learn to overcome fear with the knowledge and love of God.
Some things that cause us to have the emotion of fear are:
- The unknown
- Lack of money
- People talking about us
- Circumstances beyond our control
- What if?
The list of fears is exhaustive because man can come up with fear after fear that controls our mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.”
The tools that the Word of God provide for us are outlined in this verse: ‘a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.’ When we are filling our mind with these things instead of fear – we overcome fear!
Here is a formula that will help us cast fear out of our minds for good!
God's Power + Your Self-Discipline = A Powerful Force
Fear is a spiritual attack from your enemy, the devil. The ‘Powerful Force’ that we become is because God’s Power is living inside and defeating the spiritual attack of fear. However, we have to recognize and put into action the formula for it to work.
Ephesians 6:10-13 (NLT) says: “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 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. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.
We must be strong in God’s Mighty Power and believe that we can defeat this battle that takes place in our minds. Notice this passage says we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies but rather those in the unseen world.
God has given us the weapons that we need to fight back, but if we don't know what they are, or how to use them, it is easy to become battle weary, and feel like giving up. This is why so many, many Christians give up the fight and give over to living in fear.
God says that He hasn't given us fear, but self discipline.
How do we begin ‘self disciplining’ our emotions and thoughts?
We fill our mind with the promises of God. One of the best ways to safeguard our mind against the emotional attacks of the enemy is by meditating on God's Word on a regular basis. And, doing that takes self-discipline!
EVERYONE MEDITATES. The true meaning of meditation is to think and rethink a thought in our mind.
We spend our time ‘meditating’ on the FEAR INSTEAD OF THE SELF DISCIPLINE! We do not discipline our minds as God has instructed us to so that we can get rid of the stronghold of fear.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
The more that we discipline ourselves to meditate (take captive our thoughts) on God's Word, the easier it will become to reject thoughts that don't line up with it. And, that's what fears are - Thoughts that do not line up with God's promises to us!
Fear says God will not help you this time.
Fear says your children won't come back to the Lord.
Fear says that your finances will never improve.
Fear says that your marriage is ruined.
Fear says you will never find the right person to share life with.
Fear says the opposite of what God says.
Here is the key to overcoming fear in our minds!
Fear says the opposite of what God says.
Here is the key to overcoming fear in our minds!
Back to our beginning verse from 1 John! Perfect love drives out fear. But where do we find perfect love? Our parents? A spouse? Our circumstances?
If you look for perfect love in these places, you will only be disappointed.
The only place where you can experience perfect love is in an intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father.
As you develop that intimate relationship with Him, His perfect love will become more and more real to you, and your fears will become more unrealistic.
In order to keep from being ‘tormented by fear’ we MUST be full of God! This only comes through a close relationship with God on many levels.
That is something that should really make us all stop and think. When a fear creeps up inside of you, it should be a red flag that you need to continue deepening your relationship with God.
So, how do we begin controlling emotions of fear? Your faith in the unyielding, perfect love of your Heavenly Father is what removes fear from your mind, regardless of your circumstances.
God has promised in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
If you look for perfect love in these places, you will only be disappointed.
The only place where you can experience perfect love is in an intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father.
As you develop that intimate relationship with Him, His perfect love will become more and more real to you, and your fears will become more unrealistic.
In order to keep from being ‘tormented by fear’ we MUST be full of God! This only comes through a close relationship with God on many levels.
That is something that should really make us all stop and think. When a fear creeps up inside of you, it should be a red flag that you need to continue deepening your relationship with God.
So, how do we begin controlling emotions of fear? Your faith in the unyielding, perfect love of your Heavenly Father is what removes fear from your mind, regardless of your circumstances.
God has promised in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
God alone has the ability to know our future and He PROMISES us that He will see it through! Knowing that small piece of truth from His Word can help us overcome fear in a big way.
That does not mean that the spirit of fear will never try to attack us. But, it does means that our shield of faith can become strong enough to resist it through growing and believing God in relationship and in our life.
Next time we feel ourselves starting to fear, follow these simple steps for controlling emotions of fear:
That does not mean that the spirit of fear will never try to attack us. But, it does means that our shield of faith can become strong enough to resist it through growing and believing God in relationship and in our life.
Next time we feel ourselves starting to fear, follow these simple steps for controlling emotions of fear:
- Recognize the fearful thought as a threat.
- Think of God's promise for that situation (if you don’t know what it is; look it up in the Bible)
- Pray and tell God your concern.
- Praise God for His promise to provide your needs.
- Refuse to think about it. If it comes to your mind again, confess that you have given it over to your Heavenly Father in prayer. Then begin praising God that He heard your prayers. (James 5:16).
When fear tries to take over in your mind go through these steps again and again. God WILL release you from the fear by believing His Promises!
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