“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.”
Joshua 1:9
Throughout the scriptures the Lord has told His people to be courageous and not to fear. Yet time and again there are situations that come up in life, that try their best to get us into fear. Fear is a tool the devil uses to try to get us off course. When fear is tolerated, it moves in as a cloud of confusion and like thick fog, tries to cover the light of God’s Word and promises to us. How do you dispel fog? By increasing the light and turning up the heat. When you shine the light of God’s word on the situation and turn up the heat of His love and promises in your life, then the LOVE of God Himself will burn it away.
Someone might say, “But the fear feels so overwhelming. I’m trying to get rid of it, but I can’t seem to. How do I get rid of it?” I am glad you asked! First, it is important to realize that fear is a spirit. The scripture says in 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” God tells us how to deal with unclean spirits. You command it off of you in Jesus name. You declare what God has to say about you in 2 Timothy 1:7. You then put God’s Word in your eyes and ears and continue to decree it out of your mouth. Job 22:28 says: “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” As we decree what God says about the situation, then it establishes His promises in our lives. The fog lifts, and we are able to see clearly. We receive the light and the revelation of what God has called us to do about the situation.
Jesus tells us in Mark 4:24: “Take heed WHAT ye hear…” In Luke 8:18 He says “Take heed HOW ye hear…” When we begin feeling fear or anxiety in our lives, we need to identify the door that was opened to allow it in. When a challenging situation occurs, the flesh wants to go into fear about it and assume the worst. However, when we are built up in God’s word and we know how to fight the good fight of faith, we can take control quickly and kick out the fear and replace it with the God kind of faith. If you find yourself continuing to fear and it feels like it has become a stronghold, then you may need to check a few things:
- What have you been listening to? Are you listening to people, news programs, movies or narratives that produce fear? Are you surrounding yourself with people who love the Lord and know how to stand in faith or are the people around you speaking negatively? If so, then turn off the negative influence. Surround yourself with those who will speak faith. Turn off the news and turn on the Word.
- If you have someone in your life that is speaking negatively or fearfully, and you need to see them on a daily basis because they are a spouse, co-worker, or relative, then HOW are you listening to their conversation? Are you listening with a God filter on your ears, to filter out anything that goes against the promises and Word of God? Are you then replacing the negative conversation with your own positive confession and decree based on God’s promises?
- What thoughts are you allowing yourself to think? Are they God thoughts, or thoughts of doubt and fear? Are you taking every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ and casting down every thought that is not of Him? (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). One person said it like this: “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from making a nest in your hair.”
- What’s happening in your love walk? Do you have any unforgiveness in your heart? It doesn’t have to be unforgiveness for someone you know. It could be against a politician or even group of people. If so, then you need to get rid of the unforgiveness, the same way you get rid of fear; by an act of your will. 1 John 4:18 says: “There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
When we identify the root of the fear, then we can uproot it and replace it with the kingdom way of doing things. We can use Mathew 15:13: “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” We can decree that any thoughts or other things that have tried to take root in our soul is rooted up and cast out. We then immerse ourselves in God’s Word and allow the measure of faith that is already in us to rise up. John 1 says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” We can see in this scripture that God and His Word are one! Jesus is the WORD of God! 1 John 4:8 says: “He that loveth not knoweth not God: FOR GOD IS LOVE.” God is the WORD and God is LOVE. When we immerse in God’s Word, we immerse ourselves in LOVE! Perfect love casteth out fear! Immerse in God’s WORD/LOVE and fear will go!
In this New Year, amongst all the resolutions you might make, be resolved to not fear. Make a commitment to stay in faith and refuse to fear! No fear in this New Year!
Further reading: Zechariah 4, John 1, Isaiah 43:1-21, Isaiah 41:10-13, Philippians 4:8, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Psalm 46; Psalm 103:1-5
