Believers are new creations in Christ and are empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in His capacity through various gifts and endowments. It takes, however, overcoming some internal blockages. One big one is fear, which is the opposite of faith. While there are many types of fear, consider this: fear of the past causes unbelief; fear of the present causes depression; and fear of the future causes anxiety. All fears are emotional responses to a perceived sense of threat or loss that is lacking in truth and understanding. How to overcome?
Fear restrains faith from being activated, and the Holy Spirit from working within us. It limits our capacity to trust; therefore limiting our ability to know God. Fear doesn’t come from God. It comes from believing falsehoods. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). God offers us the gift of faith and soundness of mind. We receive the gift when we receive His love and truth.
RELEVANCE
Real transformation, therefore, occurs as we submit our fears to the Cross and allow the power of the risen LORD to arise within, transforming the mind, bringing it into greater alignment with the mind of the LORD. This is how our capacity in Christ grows. This was one of Paul’s greatest messages.
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” (Philippians 3:8-11 NLT).
REFLECT AND RELATE
Take a fear inventory. Be honest. Ask God where the fear came from. As long as you have the fear and submit to it you are a victim. God wants you to be a victor!
REFERENCES
1 John 5:4