Some people
possess a faith in God that compels them to step out where others would never
dare. Others are controlled by fear, and accomplish very little or nothing for
the Kingdom of God. So what makes the difference! The difference is allowing faith
to conquer our fears. Satan does not want us to act in faith and to be
overcomers, because overcomers take ground for the Kingdom of God. So Satan tries
to control us with fear and can use something very small to incite just enough
fear and doubt to keep us from God’s will.
One day I was in
the kitchen cooking when I suddenly felt a shadow pass over me. It was obvious
that something very large was flying around in the kitchen. Fear swept over me,
until I found the cause. It was a small bug about one third the size of my
little fingernail. It appeared much bigger than it was because it had come
between me and the light. I had no idea that such a small bug could cast such a
big shadow. But it did.
And that is how
Satan tries to convince us that he is bigger than we are – that he is bigger
than whatever God calls us to do. He says that we are going to fail and that he
has the power to stop us from overcoming. He comes between us and the light of
truth.
Have you ever
felt a shadow of darkness pass over your soul? It may be a shadow of sickness,
a bad report from the doctor, family problems, financial difficulties,
condemnation, inner turmoil, spiritual confusion. They all scream defeat,
saying “You can’t overcome! We are bigger than you. You might as well not even
try.” But God’s Word says differently. His Word says the authority of hell
itself will not prevail against God’s people. So, whose report are you going to
believe? God’s report and Satan’s are total opposites. God’s report is based on
His Truth. Satan’s report is based on his lies. Satan uses fear to separate us
from Jesus and His Word and make himself look bigger so we will shut the door
on God’s opportunities.
Remember when
Peter stepped out of the boat into a raging sea? His faith in Jesus propelled
him to step out. But when he looked around and saw the severity of the
situation, he began to realize he was in way over his head…literally! At that
moment, something came between him and the Light. But he did a very wise thing
when his faith faltered. He immediately cried out to Jesus, and they both
walked back to the boat. Sometimes we need to cry out, “I believe, Lord, but
help my unbelief.” We grow in faith through God’s Word and applying it to our
situations. We learn to walk in faith by practicing what God’s Word says to us.
One type of fear
is an anxious anticipation of danger or pain. It is anxiety and fright. It’s
also a distressing emotion aroused by impending evil, whether the threat is
real or imagined. It causes us to be apprehensive with a sense of dread. Dread is
like the darkness and eerie stillness just before a storm hits. It is an evil
foreboding, which is a fearful or threatening feeling that something bad is
going to happen at any moment. It brings a darkness of soul so heavy you can
feel it. It can hang over us indefinitely if it’s not dealt with. When Jesus
told the disciples He would be going away, He said, “Do not let your hearts be
troubled [distressed, agitated].” In other words, don’t dread it. He was
going to send the Holy Spirit, so the disciples didn’t need to live
under a cloud of dread. Jesus had given them His assurance. He gives us the
same assurance. “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Sometimes apprehension
hangs over us like the lull before the storm, even when there is no storm. But
we don’t have to go through that. We have God’s Word. We are not to live in a
dream world and pretend that problems aren’t really there, but we don’t have to
let dread convince us that it is bigger than God, because it’s not. We need to
stay in the light. Remove all obstacles that block the Light. They only lead us
away from Jesus.
Fear can also
make us want to run or escape. It can happen when God asks us to step out in a
new area, maybe to do something bigger than we are, or we are faced with a
challenge. Fear will bring up every negative reason for us to run from the
call. Fear says, “That can’t be God. He would never ask you to do that!” Have
you ever just wanted to run away? That type of fear screams out, “David, you
can’t kill Goliath! Run while you have
the chance!” Satan will call your name, too, and say you can’t do whatever it
is God says you can. When you’re reasoning out if you can do it or not, don’t
factor out God. If He is the One Who said it, you CAN do it! If Satan can trick
us into listening to his voice and acting on it, he can snuff out our
faith.
Another type of
fear is cowardice, timidity, withdrawing and insecurity. When we are alone in
the house at night and hear a strange sound, the first thing most of us do is
to freeze right where we are and try not to breath. That is a picture of
someone who is withdrawn from life and is always hiding from things that do not
exist. This type of fear will immobilize
us. Remember the man who received one talent from his master to tend while His
master was away? This man was immobilized with fear and froze, so he lost
everything. He was so afraid that he would do something wrong that he did
nothing! We all had unfounded fears as children. When we get older our fears
change, but most of them are still unfounded.
They turn to “what-ifs” – what if I fail? I heard God wrong? People reject me or come against me? What if
this happens? What if that happens? I might do the wrong thing, so I will just
do nothing. I’ll hide my talent in the ground and keep it safe.
There will
always be someone to criticize us, to tell us how they would have done it
better, to say “I told you so” if we fail, or to offer their inexperienced
opinion of our performance. But God knows the heart and soul of the worker
whether we win or lose. Keep following God. We cannot allow the opinions of
others or our own feelings to stop what God has called us to. So many times we
know what God has said, yet we keep questioning Him because we want Him to say
something else, to change His mind. But He doesn’t say anything else because He
has already told us what to do. We are stalling and He knows it. This type of
fear will leave us in indecision and we will either compromise by doing
something that seems a little safer or we will hesitate in confusion and
insecurity until the opportunity passes.
Either way, fear has done its job…and we have lost out. We cannot allow
fear to intimidate us if we want to move forward with God. Andy Andrews said:
“I have a decided heart…Indecision limits the Almighty and His ability to
perform miracles in your life. He has
put the vision in you ----proceed! To
wait, to wonder, to doubt, to be indecisive is to disobey God.” There is a
difference in waiting on the Lord and procrastinating because we are afraid.
Philippians
4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will
guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
But sometimes,
we expect bad results from every opportunity that arises rather than having
confidence that God is working all things for our good. Or sometimes we just
shut down and accept defeat from every bad circumstance that does come. We just
hunker down and wait for the worst to come instead of hearing from God and
acting in faith in the middle of the situation. Some people would have told Joseph,
“you can’t become Pharaoh’s right-hand-man. You aren’t qualified, so just go
back to your place in the prison and be content there. You were doing a good
job there, but not in a position this big!” If Joseph had heard and taken that
advice, he would have missed the will of God for His life. He trusted God
through the worst of times and the best of times, and he was right in the
center of God’s will. He was a vessel prepared to be used of God in a mighty
way.
·
We
need to go to the Light. Get out of the darkness of fear and live in the Light
of faith. Fear comes from hearing, believing and meditating on the words of the
enemy. It comes by practice. When we
practice these things, we develop our fear.
·
Faith
comes from hearing, believing and meditating on the living Word of God. It comes by practice. When we practice these
things, we develop our faith in God.
Fear not little flock
for it is your Father’s
good pleasure to give you the kingdom!
