Face Your Fears

"One Year Bible" New Testament Passage (for Mon., Oct. 22, 2012)
II Timothy 1:1-18

⁶ Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  II Timothy 1:6-7 (NKJV)

Fear is like a silent killer that is epidemic in our day.  The list of clinically diagnosed phobias is virtualy endless, and it grows daily.  We hear of everything from anxiety disorder to "love-shyness".  The range is dramatic reaching from fears that are truly life-threatening to those that produce a low-level hum of daily discomfort.  Jesus predicted this.  He said concerning the pattern of history as we near the end, "men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth" (Luke 21:25).

Fear does four things to you.  It...

1. Undermines your faith.

2. Drains your power.

3. Walls you in.

4. Distorts your thinking.

So, the Bible clearly calls us to FACE OUR FEARS.  Don't let them chase you.  I John 4:4 states: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."  God has given you His Holy Spirit, so STIR UP THAT GIFT.  Let the fire of God once again burn in your heart.  He is your power.

The passage today actually speaks of three different kinds of fear and three answers.  The first is the fear of being OVERPOWERED.  We fear that we don't have what it takes and we are about to get "plowed under."  Our enemies are simply too big.  For that fear, God says, "I will be POWER to you." 

Then there is the fear of RELATIONSHIPS.  We fear rejection or the loss of a love.  We become afraid to venture out into fellowship.  In answer to that fear, God says, "I will pour out My LOVE upon you and through you."  It is in this sense that the Scripture is true: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear" (I John 4:18). 

Lastly, there is IRRATIONAL FEAR.  We don't even know why we have such fear.  It doesn't make sense.  We are afraid of our shadow.  For that, God says, "I will give you a sound mind."  The Greek word here is sophronismo which literally means "saved thinking."  There is an old saying: "Fear knocked.  Faith answered.  And there was no one there."  So many of our fears are simply an over-active thought life that needs to be submitted to the Word of God.

Decide today to FACE YOUR FEARS.  Stop running.  Trust in God.  He will lead you through!