The Truth about Fear

Earlier this week I wrote an article called keys to overcoming fear, in which I named four areas to grow in in order to conquer fear. As we have a revelation of God’s presence with us, His love for us, His protection over us, and His destiny for us, fear will have less and less of a place in our lives.

I want to follow up now with some more truth about fear. Though we all face fears of different kinds, we must not let fear rule in our lives. Jesus said that “you will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). As you read, I pray you will receive a revelation of truth that brings freedom from the torment of fear.

1. Fear is a thief             

The goal of fear is to rob you. It steals joy, peace, hope and seeks to rob you of your destiny. It was fear that kept the children of Israel from entering into the Promised Land after they had been delivered from Egypt. It was their destiny to enter this land; God had promised it to them. But because of fear of the enemies they would have to fight, they refused to enter. (See Numbers 13 for the full story).

In the same way, fear will try to keep you from stepping into your calling and purpose. Fear of failure; fear of the unknown; fear of persecution; fear of rejection; and the list could go on. Fear seeks to paralyze you in such a way as to keep you from doing the very things that God has created you to do. Don’t let it happen!

2. Fear is a liar

Not only is fear a thief, but it is also a liar. Fear tells us that if we are afraid of something it will somehow protect us from it. This false sense of protection is a lie. The truth is, being afraid of something does not protect you from it. For example, fear of calamity does not protect you from calamity. In fact the opposite tends to be true; fear has a way of attracting the very things we are afraid of.

Fear is irrational. It causes us to envision worse-case scenarios that are highly unlikely to happen. We end up fearing not what is actually happening to us, but what could happen to us. Here is an example of the irrational nature of fear: a person is gripped by a fear of flying but has no problem riding in a car. Meanwhile, the statistical chance of dying in a car crash is much higher than the chance of dying in a plane crash. Don’t buy into the lies of fear, and don’t allow fear to be a false sense of protection.

3. Fear is a spirit            

The Apostle Paul admonished Timothy with the following words: “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). Yes, fear can simply be an emotion, but it can also come from a demonic spirit. There is a spirit of fear, whose goal is to keep people in bondage to the torment of fear. It wants you to be oppressed by intimidation, anxiety, and other forms of fear.

In deliverance ministry, I have dealt with this spirit on a variety of occasions. If you are dealing with paralyzing fear, irrational phobias, or constant intimidation, you may be influenced by the spirit of fear. If this is the case, you must stand against it and cast it out in the name of Jesus. It may be helpful to have a pastor or ministry leader pray over you for deliverance from this spirit.

Though there are many things that could cause us to fear, we must not allow fear to take root in our lives. We must walk in the confidence that God is with us. When it comes down to it, fear does nothing good for us and will only hinder us from walking in all that God has.

May you walk in God’s perfect peace and live free from fear!

Questions: How have you seen irrational fear in your life? Have you ever considered that fear can come from an actual demonic spirit?