Driven by Fear - Martin Wiles

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

I’d come face to face with many things in my lifetime, but never a pine tree.

Winter rains, sleet, and winds pummeled my mobile home. The crashing sound I heard at two in the morning wasn’t someone breaking into my house but a pine tree entering my bedroom window.

A kind couple in the church invited me to stay with them while a company repaired my trailer. For thirty days, I lingered in someone else’s home. Finally, the day came and I moved back in, but when I did fear moved in with me. Every storm and every wisp of wind unnerved me. On more than one occasion, I drove thirty miles to stay with my grandparents.

Fear eventually drove me to move back in with my parents in another part of the state. Good things came from moving, but that hasn’t always been the case when fear controlled me.

Paul didn’t live with a spirit of fear and instructed believers not to either. If they had fear, God hadn’t given it. The enemy had.

Fear of dangerous situations is healthy. God created us with this fight or flight syndrome. When faced with hazardous circumstances, we choose to stand and fight or run away. This fear is good and keeps us safe and alive.

Healthy fear differs from a spirit of fear. God hasn’t given this type of fear. When I have a spirit of fear, I live with fear daily and hourly. The list varies as much as the individual. Fear of falling, fear of being a crime victim, fear of eternal damnation, fear of failure, fear of crime, fear of a contracting a dreaded disease.

Putting away a spirit of fear doesn’t mean nothing bad won’t ever happen to me—or my family or friends. God chooses to let sin run its ugly course in the world—for now. With it comes unfortunate circumstances. My faith won’t always protect me—especially when it comes to suffering for my stand for Christ. Jesus said persecution comes with following Him.

I do, however, have God’s assurance that He won’t leave me. If harm—or even death—comes, He walks by my side, giving me the strength to endure. And though someone may take my life, they can never take my soul. It belongs eternally to God.

Don’t live with a spirit of fear. Choose to live with confidence instead.

Tweetable: Are you living with a spirit of fear?

Prayer: Father, thank You for delivering us from pervading fear and giving us the privilege of living with confidence each day. 

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