“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but . . a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
“Fear is an unnatural emotion with a spiritual origin.”
My thoughts today are about “fear.”
Fear is a debilitating thing; fear fuels your imagination of the worst possibilities, blinds you to realities, and paralyzes your abilities. Would your life be better without fear, dread, or worry? You can find courage to face fears and be free of imagined projections of the worse possibilities. I come from a line of worriers who would warn of terrible outcomes, as though they could foresee the inevitable disaster awaiting. Such people feed fear. They don’t create it; they just add fuel to it. Ever wonder how fear came to be? But everything has an origin; what then is fear’s origin? First, let’s be clear about this. It did not come in Creation. God saw all that He had made and declared it “good.”
Fear does not come from God. The Bible says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV. Fear was not in Adam’s knowledge or experience, until he sinned by directly disobeying God in the Garden of Eden. “And God called to Adam, where are you?” Finally, Adam came out of hiding to explain, “I heard Your voice in the Garden and I was afraid . . and I hid myself.” Read Genesis 3:8-10 NKJV. The first experience of this negative emotion was Adam’s unholy fear of God, brought on by his own wrongdoing. When the Bible uses “fear” in reference to God, it is more accurately describing a “reverence for God.” Solomon, who should know a little about wisdom, said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Proverbs 9:10 NIV.
Fear is an unnatural emotion with a spiritual origin, and not in a good way. Paul described this negative emotion as “a spirit of fear.” Whatever else that may or may not mean it is definitely not a good thing. Fear comes from deeper than your thoughts or emotions; it comes from your spiritual consciousness and if not controlled can be harmful, even destructive. Your thoughts and emotions are where fear outwardly expresses itself. See 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV.
Fear is the companion of a failure to trust. “God has . . given us a spirit of . . power, love, and a sound mind.” When you believe God has equipped you with His power, and you are assured of His unfailing love, fears are replaced with trust. Your mind as created by God is sound, healthy and well balanced, and able to be disciplined and self-controlled. Read Psalm 61:1-4 NKJV. Learn from David in his distressing time, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. O God, I praise Your word. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?” Psalm 56:3-4 NLT.
My prayer for you today is that you trust in the Lord with all your heart at all times.