Free from Fear

Verses
2 Timothy 1:7 – For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Devotion
My mother will tell you that I was a difficult baby, I cried inconsolably whenever I was not being held by her. Ever since I was a young child I remember being afraid. A lot of my childhood memories are plagued by fear, even though I grew up in a very nurturing home. The enemy had a plan to steal, kill and destroy and his main strategy was fear. I believe that is still his strategy today for many of us.

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us from the moment we choose to follow Jesus, has a much different plan. Power, love and a sound mind!

I’ve spent many years of my life battling fear. I have memorized scripture, and read Christian books about fear. I’ve purposely challenged myself to stretch out of my comfort zone and spent a lot of time praying. As I disciplined my mind and emotions, I gained confidence and increased freedom. God walked me through many scary seasons in my life as I slowly learned to trust in His steadfast love. But something was still missing.

About five years ago I was completely exhausted; mentally and emotionally fatigued. Irrational and fearful thoughts were constantly bombarding me to the point where I couldn’t look into the eyes of my child without thinking of horrible things that could happen to him. Every situation ended in my mind with the worst case scenario. Desperate, I prayed a simple prayer of surrender. “Jesus, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live like this anymore. Please take this away from me.” I saw a picture in my mind of an old dry well with a cover over it. And I felt like God was speaking to my spirit saying, “you’ve tried to get rid of this empty well, but you’ve only managed to covered it up. I can fill it in.” Immediately, the irrational fearful thoughts disappeared! It was truly a miracle. The Holy Spirit’s power came into my life and set me free!

I don’t know where you are in your battle with fear. It is a continual journey, that won’t be complete until we are home, in heaven. There are still some days I have to stand firm on His promises and fight.
If that is you: Please don’t give up! Keep praying, keep getting counseling, keep reaching out for help, keep reading and memorizing the Bible! The Holy Spirit lives in you and today might be the day of breakthrough for you. We are living during a challenging moment in history where the devil would like to use fear to cripple and silence God’s people. May this be an opportunity for each of us to take our next step in faith.

My prayer for you today is that He would guard your thoughts and give you a sound mind firmly resting upon His truth. I pray that you would see His power in your life as you are filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. And that you would know how wide and deep His all consuming love is for you!