God put us in a world of risk to teach us to trust Him.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
What does fear do to us?
Consider the example of Exodus 14:8-15
It robs our power. In verse 8 they had boldness, in verse 10 fear hit, by verse 11 they expected to die and by verse 12 they were ready to be beaten as slaves again.
It makes us selfish. The Israelites said, "Didn't we tell you before? Look what you've done to us!" When we're afraid, we accuse others, we excuse ourselves, we blame other people and we run from responsibility.
It clouds our thinking. Common sense and a sound mind left them. They were retreating to the predictable pain of slavery insteadof taking the risk to fight for the freedom ahead of them.
Three keys to overcoming fear:
You must be rooted in the love of God.
... that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rootedand grounded in love. - Ephesians 3:16,17 (NKJV)
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. - 1 John 4:18a (NKJV)
Rick Warren writes that there are three types of fears:
Surface fears - like being afraid you might run out of gas.
Subconcious fears - They are the things that are right below the surface, like the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of abandonment, the fear of loosing control, or the fear of intimacy.
The soul fear - fear of not being unconditionally loved. The ultimate basis for all fear is man's alienation from God. The first mention of fear in the Bible was from Adam. Fear of punishment, insecurity, dread of evil events and anticipation of loss all stem from the lost relationship with God and the covering that comes from His loving protection.
You must understand that fear is a spirit.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear. 2 Timothy 1:7a (NKJV)
The devil operates on the 'anxiety gap' or 'care gap'. The spirit of fear torments you about what might happen in the future. We are to deal with the here and now and cast our cares on Jesus. Faith is for the NOW.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. - 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)
You must address fear with the Word of God.
Jesus used this approach when He was tempted by the devil.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentsof the heart. - Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)
Two-edged - distomos - two-mouthed (Vines Expository) The word of God becomes active in our lives when we speak what God spoke.
Division - merismos - to distribute (Vines Expository) - (according to Dr. Harry Rimmer this word is a Greek term for a tax assessed on all people. But since the very poor could not pay, the rich had to divide their wealth to cover the poor. So it became known as the 'poor dues'. The word of God brings life to the spirit, and the spirit distributes these benefits to the soul and body.)
We use God's mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil?s strongholds. - 2 Corinthians 10:4 (NLT)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God?. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. - John 1:1,4,5 (NKJV)
