No Spirit of Fear

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV).

Fear of what lies ahead can be very strong and frightening, but belief in God's faithfulness can give us greater faith. We don't live in the future, and we don't need to worry over what may or may not happen. We live in the here and now. Worrying over the future can keep us from discovering the joy God has for us in the present.

How many of us struggle to figure out what is going to happen? We shouldn't try. It is a good thing that we do not know everything that is to come. God keeps it from us for our own benefit. Having a strong faith is more important than knowing what lies ahead. Faith is worth too much to sacrifice in an attempt to bring temporal peace to our minds. Faith to trust in God‒no matter what is to come‒rises from an intimate knowledge of Him. The spiritual peace that comes from that intimacy is beyond human understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). Faith takes me where fear never can‒into His lasting peace that comes with full understanding that God is in control, and whatever comes is completely in His hands.

When we ask Him to take care of all that we face, we must trust Him completely to take care of it. When we give Him our worry for the present and our concern for what is to come, we must empty ourselves completely of all that hinders His work in us. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). He longs to be free in us. If we hold on to fear that defines who we are, there is no room for Him. There is no freedom. 

If I pray for Him to save me from difficulty and worry, then I must trust that He will. If I don't trust, then I become helpless and powerless. He is my rescuer and wants to rescue me. Instead of fighting His help when I am drowning, I will trust in His faithfulness to lift me out of my sea of despair. He calls me to launch out into the deep. I will not fight my rescuer because I fear drowning. God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of His power and His love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). I will not drown. I can depend on Him.