Fear is a Liar! A Sunday Reflection

God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7  

I’ve talked about fear before, but here I am again because it keeps rearing its ugly head. Fear gets in your face and makes your life miserable—or maybe that’s just me. And I’m pretty fearless about most things thanks to the influence (or maybe DNA) of my dad.

I’m not talking about helpful fear, the kind that prevents you from walking into traffic. I’m talking about fear that trips your step or paralyzes your walk. The kind of fear that takes your anxiety to ridiculous and unnecessary levels.

Fear can be a direction changer. Where God leads you, fear can stop you. Where God flips a light switch on, fear will boldly turn it off to hide a hopeful future. Fear is all about doom, stress and panic.

God didn’t give us the spirit of fear. Nope. But He does give us:  

• a spirit of power! Through God all things are possible. I heard someone say once that there is enough power in the far corner of God’s littlest pinky fingernail (if he had fingernails) to wipe out all things on the earth. That’s pretty powerful. If we are willing, God's power gives strength and power to the  (you and I) weak (Isaiah 40:29). 

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13  

• a spirit of love. He tells us to love him, love each other as we love      ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39 ).  That is a lot of love going on there, but more than that, love is about the spirit of God who lives in us and how we act on that love.

 “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16-18 

^“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (v. 18).”

• a spirit of a sound mind. What is this sound mind you speak of? A sound mind focuses on good judgment, rational thought processes, and personal discipline, where truth triumphs over lies. The result? A calm more well-balanced healthy mind. Oswald Chambers said, “Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him (meaning God).” (Parenthesis mine.)

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 

What do you fear? Losing a job? Health issues? A child who continues to make wrong decisions? Death? Fear will focus your mind on the circumstance and the "what if" results. Faith focuses on God’s power to take you through whatever it is. The outcome may not always be what you ordered, but in my life experiences, God’s outcome is the right one. 

After I wrote this piece, I drove to my workplace (school). Fear is a Liar was playing on the radio and the last thing I heard before going inside. One of my favorite songs:  

Go check out Fear is a Liar by Zach Williams.

Today my prayer for you and I: “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

T.