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From an address by Carolyn Howell
Part 2
In Part 1 we learned that there are two kinds of fear: the healthy reverential fear that we have of the Lord and an unhealthy fear we all have experienced. We noted the definitions of the words fear and rule and were reminded that God gave us the authority to rule over anything that is not of Him. We studied the characteristics of fear under the following headings: 1) Fear can be a spirit; 2) Fear is a sin; 3) Fear is torment.
The Characteristics of Fear:
- Fear is bondage.
“Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” Heb. 2:14-15 (NIV).
We can become slaves to the things that we fear. Fear can paralyze our minds, wills and emotions. When paralysis takes place, it keeps us from opportunites that God has for us in life. Fear of failure can keep us from going forward in life and in our work or ministry. Fear of rejection will keep us from getting involved in relationships. If we allow ourselves to be controlled by fear, we can affect others. They too can miss some of life’s experiences that God has for them.
Anything that is full of fear separates us from God because we are moving in unbelief and not in faith. We are not moving toward the Lord, we are moving away from Him. Wherever fear is, faith is not there. You cannot have both at once; they are opposites.
I have found that if I allow fear to come and control my life, it keeps me from obeying God and from doing what He has called me to do. It would be easier to quit sometimes and not battle fear, but that is not God’s will for our lives. God never intended for us to live a life full of fear. He wants us to have a life full of peace and joy.
- Fear is a producer:
Just as faith will produce good things for you, fear will produce for you also—all kinds of negative things. In Job 3:15, Job said, “What I feared has come upon me.” If we allow fear to come in and control us, the very thing that we feared will come in and manifest itself. The devil’s kingdom is built on fear; God’s kingdom is built on faith. The enemy will cause fear to produce in your life if you allow him to do so.
Some of the fruits of fear are depression, despair, hopelessness and discouragement. If the enemy can get us to have this negative fruit in our lives, we have no ability to conquer. We need to allow faith, not fear, to be a producer in our lives. God is good; He is faithful! When you are believing the Lord for something, He will never let you down if what you desire is according to His Word.
How Fear Enters
Fear enters through the eyegate.
In Matt. 14:28-30 we read that Peter walked on the water to Jesus, but when he saw the wind blowing fiercely, he began to sink. Fear was entering in through the eyegate. Fear wants to come into our lives through the things we see—like the bills that we have to pay, the news reports of conditions in the world, our children walking the way of the world, etc. If we keep our eyes fixed on the negative things instead of on Jesus and His Word, we will begin to have fear attacking us through the channel of the eyegate.
Fear enters through the eargate.
The enemy uses our senses to try to instill fear in us. In 1 Sam. 17:10-11 we have an account of the giant Goliath defying the armies of Israel. Upon hearing the giant’s words, King Saul and all of Israel were dismayed and terrified.
Saul heard with his ears what Goliath said and fear entered. The Bible says the men of Israel were terrified by what they heard. We too hear negative reports every day. If we choose to dwell on them, fear will begin to develop and take root in our lives. When we first heard of AIDS, fear sprang up in the community. People were afraid to go to public events and use public restrooms because we did not have enough knowledge about the disease. We feared because of what we were hearing.
While we are seeing and hearing all the negative things in life on our TV screens or in our newspapers, the enemy plans his attack. He is waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on us. We need not fix our eyes and ears on the negative things in life. Let us allow the Word of God or spiritual songs to be the last thing that goes into our subconscious minds before we go to bed at night.
—to be continued
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