Have you ever experienced fear in your life? Everyone has definitely experienced it at some point. However, how you deal with the spirit of fear will be the deciding factor as to whether you will triumph or lose.
Fear silently whispers to you that the situation you are facing is insurmountable or the challenge ahead of you has never been conquered so everything may still work against you. You need to understand what is fear, how it works against you, and how to rise above it.
What is Fear?
How would you describe fear? It is a tool used by the devil to create misery in your life and to eventually destroy your life. It starts as a thought and eventually leads to emotions that hold us captive. This then tries to manipulate you towards foolish actions or even prevents you from taking a bold step and doing something that would change your situation and bring glory to God.
In simple terms, fear holds you back and prevents you from actualizing your dreams in life. God’s desire is that you walk by faith. The moment you choose to live by faith in God, you start to experience fulfilment, satisfaction, peace, and joy in your heart.
In the book of Proverbs 23:7, the Bible says:
“as a man thinks in his heart, so is he”.
Whichever way your mind thinks will influence your reactions and progress. Put your faith in God, think positively, and conquer all odds.
Is the Spirit of Fear Holding You Back?
How many times have you wondered whether you are doing the right thing or making the correct decision? Are you among the many people blessed with great gifts and talents from God but are not making use of them because you tried once and failed?
Many people live in frustration because they allow fear to rule over them. They end up living a life completely different from that which God had purposed for them.
Let Christ Take Charge
Allow Christ to come into your life and take charge of everything thereof. When Christ takes over, He replaces your fear with faith in Him, He clears out all doubt and He refines you into a new and focused being. He opens your eyes to your purpose in life and ably guides you towards fulfilment fearlessly!
As you study the Word of God and meditate upon it, you will be able to clearly pinpoint the fears holding you back and consequently rise above them through Christ in you. Your purpose will then come into clear focus ready for you to take the next step towards living a fulfilled life.
Put Your Faith in God and You’ll Never Go Wrong
Whenever you allow the spirit of fear to rule your life, you become enslaved to a life of mediocrity, pain, and regrets. You end up living as if you are caged in a prison.
When you study the word of God, you will encounter the phrase “fear not” on many occasions. The Bible commands you to believe in God, to cast all your burdens unto Him, and to believe that He has good plans for you.
The Bible, in Joshua 8:1, says:
“And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.”
This was a strong assurance to Joshua that in every step of the way, God was in charge. In the same way, God is in charge of your destiny, fear not!
Because God is all-knowing, He already understands that fear is a problem you always encounter. This is why He doesn’t condemn you when you are in fear. All He wants is to set you free from that bondage.
Whenever God commands, “Fear not,” He goes ahead to assure you that He will be there to see you through everything. He reminds you that He is God and reigns above everything else.
God has already given you the power to overcome fear. Fear chains you to ordinary and unfulfilled life. Trust in God and allow Him to empower you to overcome all obstacles brought about by fear. Whenever you overcome fear, you open doors to a fresh, higher, and more beautiful beginning in your life.
How to Overcome the Spirit of Fear
1. Name Your Fears
When you decide to name your fears, you take away their power. Take a step of faith and name them before God in your prayer and reclaim power over them. Render them inconsequential by naming them and placing the name of Jesus, the name that is above every other name, above them.
2. Hold on To the Promises of God
The Bible says that the word of God is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces. Read and meditate upon it. Let His promises live in you and mould you into a fresh creature as He breaks every spirit of doubt and fear from your life.
3. Surrender Your Fears to God
Fears that hold you back from actualizing your potential and living as per God’s purpose should be cast unto Jesus. Surrender them one by one. Give them to God with a simple prayer. Keep praying from your heart and let go.
4. Envision Your Success
Through the power of imagination, you can influence the outcomes of situations. Trigger your success story by visualizing success in your mind. If possible, get a piece of paper and note down in a simple form the vision for success in your life.
5. Take Action
Rise up in faith and take a step of faith towards your dreams. You may encounter challenges but keep holding your head high. Take a rest if you must but do not give up.
Nace Volcic is a founder and president of Operando society. He is a lay missionary from Slovenia and author of three published books. With his wife, he travels around the world, visits missions in third world countries, helps as a volunteer, and writes about it on the blog https://en.operando.org.
I’ve done all this and got a whole drawer full of T-shirts!
I have lived with a paralyzing fear of man for 67 years. I am a Christian and I love God, but according to the scripture I am a hypocritical cowardly Christian, it has stolen my entire life my productivity and my purpose and for that reason I hate myself.
Over the last almost 40 years I have spent thousands and thousands and thousands of hours of studying the word listening to messages on fear and deliverance reading multiple books, i’ve been through deliverance sessions at least a half a dozen times, and two of them were 12 week deliverance classes, and on and on and on.
And to this day I am still so paralyzed I can’t witness to anybody and I hate myself for it. Because I care about people, I want to tell them about Jesus, I wanna pray for them for healing because I hate sickness and disease. And every time I see someone I want to pray for them in stores and things like that, but I’m paralyzed. So I’m nothing but a hypocritical coward.
I have even worked in a well-known ministry for 22 years which if I told you what it was you would know.
I have ministered to inmates for the last 12 years so I know I’m touching lives behind the scenes.
But that is not enough. I have prayed for boldness for years, my mom and my sister are powerful testimonies for the Lord, and I’m nothing but a sniveling coward.
Dennis, thank you for your honesty. I don’t think you’re a hypocritical coward, however. Hypocrisy implies you say to do good but your heart is far from it. In this case, it seems your heart is overwhelmingly for it, but you’re experiencing a fear of man stronghold. I would encourage you to fast. I’m sure it’s been part of your journey, but I would encourage you to pick up a book by Franklin Hall called “Atomic Power with God thru Fasting and Prayer”. I just received it and have begun reading and I feel my commitment to the next fast growing. Fasting is a weapon much of today’s Church fails to use well.
I was raised in fear of fearing everything and everyone. I feel that I don’t truly know who I am and for fear of loosing people in my life I know how to hide it but I want to be free to love who God created me to be. I have many gifts and talents that God has given me. I will overcome this and I’m going on a fast to hear from God.