Fear on the Run - Part 5

Hello everyone,

Probably one of the most effective and dangerous weapons our enemy, the devil, tries to launch against us is fear.  But it doesn’t have to have any power over us if we choose to respond to the devil’s threats the way God’s Word tells us to.  

Isaiah 54:17 says, “...no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord...; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.”

This is God’s promise to us! Any weapon the enemy hurls against us through circumstances or bad reports, intending to derail us, has absolutely no power to harm us.  Not when our hearts and minds are rooted in faith, and we have learnt to respond to his tactics the way the Word teaches us to.

Remember Jesus told us - while we are on this earth, living for Him, we are most certainly going to encounter challenges.  As long as we have an enemy, those challenges are not going to stop coming against us.  But Jesus said in the midst of them, we can rejoice!  Because He has overcome anything this world could ever throw our way, and He has deprived it of its power to harm us!

A good friend of mine, Pastor Rhonda Spencer reminded me that my response will always determine my outcome.  Isn’t that a powerful statement?  Our response to the bad news we receive, or the troubling circumstance we find ourselves facing has the power to determine our outcome.  

If our reaction is going to be full of negativity and panic, then we empower the spirit of fear to work against us.  However, if our response is going to be what God’s Word teaches us to say, we empower the faith in our hearts to go to work and cause God’s promises to become our reality!  Even the impossible becomes possible through faith!

So what does God’s Word tell us to do the moment we face trouble?  Well firstly, it tells us to not fear!  So if you know negativity or anxious words are going to come out of your mouth - keep it shut!  Rather say nothing than empower the enemy to work against you.

The second instruction the Word gives us is to cast that care right over to the Lord.  Give it to Him immediately, knowing He has your very best interests at heart, that He loves you completely, and is extremely attentive to your prayer.  

Once you’ve given Him that care, begin to find out what His Word says regarding it.  Follow the Holy Spirit’s lead here - He will help you find the appropriate scriptures for your situation.  Then once you have His Word on it - you pray and speak that promise right over the situation.  As you do this, you will literally feel the peace of God rise up inside you like a mighty, flowing river.  That peace is powered by your absolute trust in your God.    It’s so powerful that it causes joy to bubble up inside you too.  That joy is a supernatural force that is your strength.  

So now, when you open your mouth, the words that come out are, “Lord, thank You for Your Word and Your promises concerning me.  Thank you that You always work all things for good, to and for those who love you, and are called according to Your purpose.  And I love You Lord! I trust You completely to fulfil Your will concerning me.  No matter what things look like, I know they are subject to change, but You Lord, You will never change!  You will always be my joy, You will always be my peace, You will always be my delight, and You will always be faithful to me. I bless Your Name Lord, I worship You, I adore You!  You are wonderful, and glorious, and so worthy to be praised!”.

Let me tell you, at this point, fear has completely lost its bearings and sense of direction, including its power.  It has actually derailed itself!  And your spontaneous praise has put the enemy on the run!  Because you responded the way God’s Word has taught you to respond!

Now take a look at this scripture from Isaiah 41:10:

“Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice.”

When we learn to trust the Lord and His Word concerning us, He hardens us to difficulties.  That means, we find we are stronger than we were the first time we cried out to Him and He rescued us.  We find we are not moved to worry and fear like we used to be.  That’s because we are reminded of how He came right into our midst and rescued and delivered us, and we know He will do it again.  We become tough in the Spirit, not weak and vulnerable in the flesh.  We are no longer easy game to the enemy.  We will not be shaken as we may have been before. 

I’ll end with this promise Jesus gives us in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

The moment you hear anything that contradicts God’s Word concerning you, respond by saying, “Heart, don’t be troubled, neither be afraid, God is with Me and yes He will help me, yes He will deliver me, and yes He will rescue me from all trouble. He will protect and provide for me and give me the wisdom I need to act on to see me through safely.”

If you let this be your response, fear will have no option but to leave and you can trust the Lord to show you exactly what you need to say or do to walk through to victory, every time.

All my love,

Jenny

Fear on the Run - Part 4

Hello Everyone,

Some people believe that fear can be a healthy emotion, and that it’s even responsible for us to have little dose of it to keep us living within cautious, reasonable boundaries.  But that’s not God’s will for us.  According to the Word, fear is a spirit that is relentless in its intent to keep us in bondage, paralyse our faith, and stop us from experiencing fullness of life.

Since we know fear is our enemy, the Bible teaches us how to practically refuse and overcome it so we don’t have to be bound by its destructive power.  Fear will always bring bondage, torment and oppression; but if we establish ourselves in God’s Word, we will be equipped to refuse it and keep it out of our lives!

Did you know that God has given us spiritual equipment of an entirely different nature than fear - according to 2 Timothy 1:7, He has given us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind to combat it!

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”

We can refuse fear by taking a hold of any negative thought or emotion and pulling them in line with God’s Word!  When we bring our souls into submission to God’s Word, we actually do what the Bible calls, “establish ourselves in righteousness”, which is exactly what causes us to overcome!

Let’s take a closer look at what it means to Establish Ourselves in Righteousness.

Take a look at what Isaiah 54:14 says, “You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God’s will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”

In the New Covenant we have in Christ Jesus, we have been made the righteousness of God. This means it’s now our nature and expected behavior to constantly know and be aware of what God’s Word says about Himself, and to live in Him and His ways. 

When we are established in these truths, we are established in righteousness and, according to the Word, will be able to resist and refuse fear!  In fact, when we get into the habit of establishing ourselves in God’s thoughts and ways - the Word says we will be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, because we will not fear!

Just on a quick side note, the word oppression means removing the power from someone being able to control their own future.  Fear says we are bound to destruction and hopelessness, where God’s Word says we are bound to life and victory in Him.  We don’t have to settle for what the devil dictates, he doesn’t have the power to oppress us, unless we give it to him - by yielding to fear.

In today’s letter, we are taking a look at one of the foundational truths, found in God’s Word, we must establish ourselves in order to refuse fear:

We must know and believe the love God has for us.

1 John 4:16-18 says, “And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.

In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.

There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].

We can know and believe God’s love for us when we continuously spend time learning about Him in His Word. The Holy Spirit makes that truth alive in our hearts and begins to reveal the true nature of God to us in a most intimate way.  Our hearts literally swell with the love God pours into us (Romans 5:5).  

That love produces a deep sense of trust in us towards Him, and His Word.  When His character and promises become more real to us than our troubles, fear looses its power and is literally driven out.  

Take a look at how this happened to Jesus’ disciples when they were faced with fear:

John 20:19-20, “Then on that same first day of the week, when it was evening, though the disciples were behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace to you!

So saying, He showed them His hands and His side. And when the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy (delight, exultation, ecstasy, rapture).”

Did you notice how Jesus responded to the disciples when they were fearful, He came and stood among them.  God is not distant from you when you go through trouble.  He promises that He is with you, and insists that you realize and recognize that He is your peace and your refuge.

It’s time to settle in your mind once and for all that God loves you with an unfailing, never ending love.  He is for you, and completely dependable and faithful to you.  You don’t have to worry about Him turning His back on you, or leaving you desperate and alone.  You can trust Him with your life.  

In John 15:9, Jesus says He loves us, as much as the Father loves Him, and He invites us to continue in that love with Him. “I have loved you, [just] as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love [continue in His love with Me].”

In John 16:27 He says, “For the Father Himself [tenderly] loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came out from the Father.”

In Isaiah 38:17, we see how powerful God’s love for us is. “...You have loved back my life from the pit of corruption and nothingness, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.”

His promise in Jeremiah 31:3 stands true for us, “...I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.”

Spend time meditating on these scriptures that speak the truth concerning God’s love for you.  Let them fill your thoughts throughout the day, and meditate on them before you go to sleep at night.  They will begin to dominate the way you see yourself in God’s eyes.  

The moment a negative, fearful thought comes into your mind, vying  for your attention, it will hold no ground in your heart or mind.  Since you are more convinced of God’s love and care for you than what that negative thought has to say, it has nothing to latch onto and it’s power over you is gone.

Now you can confidently find refuge in the truth you’ve become establish in, and refuse even the thought of fear.

In the next letter we’ll learn how knowing God’s love for us hardens us to difficulties and secures us in a place of complete dependency on Him.

All my love,

Jenny

Fear on the Run - Part 3

Hello Everyone,

The Book of Proverbs tells us that God’s Words are, “... life to those who find them, and healing and health to all their flesh.” - Proverbs 4:22.  We’ve been learning how meditating on the truth of God’s Word brings life, peace, and healing to our lives as it produces the spiritual force of faith inside us (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2-3; Romans 8:6; Romans 10:17).  

Just the same, we know that meditating on anything that contradicts the truth of God’s Word, produces the spiritual force of fear inside us. Fear is a destructive force that has no place in a believer’s life, yet we all fall prey to its tactics unless we constantly guard the thoughts we allow ourselves to mediate on.

Being in the habit of guarding our hearts and minds to combat fear is something we can learn to do, in fact, we can become quite skilled at it.  The Word of God clearly tells us how we can go about doing this.

1) Refuse Fear!

To begin with, let’s look at what Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]”

Jesus tells us to not allow our hearts to be troubled, and to not be afraid.  Now, I found an extract about this verse from Rick Renner’s Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2, and I want to share it with you.

“...The word “troubled” is the Greek word tarreso, which means to shake, to disquiet, to unsettle, to perplex, to cause anxiety, or even to cause feelings of grief...

Often when these troubling emotions begin to work in the soul, they open the door to other negative emotions and eventually pull us over into the realm of fear.  That’s why it’s so important to bring the soul into submission before this happens.  This is precisely why Jesus continued to say, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

The word “afraid” is from the word deilos, and depicts a gripping fear or dread that produces a shrinking back or cowardice. In essence, our ability to calmly and objectively look at the problem head-on to deal with it appropriately disappears when fear sets in.  It literally paralyses our ability to move forward and causes us to retreat into our own mode of self-preservation - which, in effect, is cowardice or the lack of courage to face what is before us...”

That’s why, even when we find ourselves thrust into situations that are designed to unravel us, and cause us to fear, we must remember we were not created to shrink back and retreat in this life.  Jesus knew what we would be facing and told us in advance how to deal with these moments.

2) Find Your Peace in Him

He says we must refuse fear and find our peace in Him!  We cannot allow ourselves to stay in a state of feeling troubled, upset, and fearful.  Instead, we must let His peace become the dominating force in our lives.  

The Bible calls Jesus the Prince of Peace, and in 2 Corinthians 13:11, we are told God is the author and promoter of peace. So when trouble comes, leaning and relying on, and pressing into the Person of Jesus is where we draw our peace and strength from.   

In John 14:27, Jesus says we have the very same peace He possesses, that means no matter what we encounter in this life, we are able to navigate through it with the very peace of God.  Jesus made a point of explaining the peace He gives is not the same as the peace this world knows.  His peace is perfect, making us complete and lacking nothing! It’s based on Him and His unchanging character, not on circumstances or fleeting emotions. 

3) Fix Your Thoughts on Him

Now, since peace comes from God and His Word that is alive in our hearts, we must set our sights on its truth and His promises concerning us. Isaiah 26:3 says when our thoughts are fixed on the Lord, He will keep us in perfect and constant peace. 

1 Timothy 6:17 says we are to set our hopes on God, Who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment.  To set our hopes on the character of God that is described in this verse, means there can be no wavering or questioning His good intention towards us, or whether He will desert us, or contradict Himself and suddenly take things away from us.  

Look at what Hebrews 13:5b-6 (AMPC) says, “...He [God]Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not,[I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]. So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?”

We are to establish ourselves in the truth of Who God’s Word says He is, and receive a revelation of His unwavering, perfect love towards us - especially when we are faced with problems that are by no means imaginary.  Our emotions must not be in bondage to a spirit of fear that will turn us into cowards, if we succumb to it.  Shrinking back is not God’s will for us.

In the next letter we’ll continue learning how to practically refuse fear in our lives.  Until then, choose to commit yourself to the Lord every day.  Purpose to keep your thoughts on Him, especially when you hear disappointing news, or you find you’re having to ward off fearful thoughts.  Deliberately refuse to focus on the negative and immediately cast your cares on the Lord.  Then as you fill your mind with thoughts of Who God is, and how much He is committed to take care of you, that peace that surpasses all understanding will be yours to experience.

All my love,

Jen

Fear on the Run - Part 2

Hello everyone,

In our series Fear on the Run, we are learning about the perfect love of God that has the power to chase fear right out our lives.  Our chief scripture 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].”

So far we’ve learnt that to fear is a sin, and that it’s a powerful spiritual force with the ability to paralyse our faith, and cause us to shrink back from our convictions - should we yield to it.  However, fear has a far more powerful enemy than itself.  The perfect love of God will out run, out last and completely cast out every trace of fear in our lives.

Since God is perfect love, the best way to learn the truth about fear, and how to conquer it, is to see it from His perspective.  So let’s take a look at what God’s Word says about fear.

To begin with, fear is not natural, and it’s certainly not OK for any born-again believer to have any part in it.  According to scripture, fear is a spirit that is not from God. We know this to be true from  2 Timothy 1:7 which says, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”  

So How does fear come?  

To understand how fear comes, we must understand the nature of a seed.  It always produces after its own kind.

God’s Word is an incorruptible seed that when sown into our hearts and minds, produces the very life and nature of God in us.  1 Peter 1:23 says, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,...”.  

When we hear and meditate on the truth of God’s Word, it produces life, peace, and the spiritual force of faith inside us (Proverbs 3:17-18; Romans 10:17; Romans 8:6).  Just the same, when we hear and meditate on anything that contradicts the truth of God’s Word, what we hear becomes a seed that produces the spiritual force of fear inside us.

I once heard Creflo Dollar explain that just as faith is a spiritual force that comes by us meditating on God’s Word; fear is a spiritual force that comes from meditating on the contradiction of God’s Word.  

Now how are we ever going to know what the contradictions are if we don’t know what the truth is?  If we don’t become diligent students of God’s Word, we’ll never recognize if what we are hearing is contradicting God’s truth or not.  Which means we’ll just believe anything that sounds convincing enough.  Because of our ignorance of God’s truth - we end up filling our lives with seeds that will give rise to fear and death.

The problem comes when we believe what we hear from the media or people’s opinions without first checking what God has to say about the matter.  Even what we hear from the pulpit at church must line up with God’s Word, or it will be a seed that contradicts God’s truth.  When it’s sown into our hearts it will produce fear.

Here’s a well know example of this.  When we are told that God gives and takes away, unless we know who actually said that, and why he did, we will believe it’s something God said.  As a result, we will constantly live wondering if God will choose to take things away from us, for whatever reason He deems fit.  That is a complete contradiction of His dependable character.  It doesn’t strengthen our faith, it cripples it, giving root to fear.

The truth is, Job was the one who said that God gives and takes away, and he said it when he was not in his sound mind.  Job admitted that what he said was inconsistent with the true character of God.  He was speaking out of his brokenness and despair.  He admitted that the very thing he feared came upon him.  It wasn’t God Who took from Job, it was Job who harboured the spirit of fear and it produced destruction in his life, because fear is a spirit that opens the door for the devil to torment us.

Just the same, when we live in deliberate disobedience to God’s will, we open the door for destruction in our own lives.  God doesn’t turn His back on us, or turn our world upside-down to punish us.  Our own free will to do what we know is wrong is us walking away from God’s goodness and opening our lives to trouble.

That doesn’t mean that if bad things happen to us, it’s a direct result of our being in sin either.  We have an enemy, the devil, who is bent on trying to overwhelm us with worry and fear by manipulating circumstance to distract us from our faith in God.  Jesus said that while we are in this world trouble would come - but if we learn to focus on Him and His Word, and refuse fear, we will have the power to overcome anything (John 16:33).

Let’s make a deliberate decision to not just accept what we hear from the media, or people’s opinions, no matter how convincing they may seem.  Instead, let’s take what we hear and measure it up to what God’s Word says.  If it contradicts what He says, we have every right to dismiss it from our thoughts and replace it with the truth of God’s Word.  This is how we are going to successfully guard our hearts against fear.  

In my next letter, we’re going to see what God’s Word has to say about us becoming skilled at this process of guarding our hearts and minds to combat fear.  Until then, watch what seeds you allow into your mind - hold on to the truth and refuse anything that  contradicts it.

All my love,

Jen