The chain of fear…
A word that’s been coming up a lot in my spirit is the word “settled.” If you believe something and you know it to be true, it’s settled and there’s no doubt. The problem comes when we don’t settle things and we leave a little room for the “what if” and “could that be”, so let’s remove that gap and get rid of any hindrance or encumbrance. This week, I’m talking about fear. It can happen when you’re not settled.
God loves us…that’s a settled fact. The gospel isn’t about getting to heaven; it’s about getting heaven back into us so that we can do what God has called us to do: impact this world.
The enemy always wants you to be in fear of what God’s calling you to do, but that’s a chain that’s under our feet, so don’t pick it up. Such chains are only as strong as we allow them to be in our life.
Our series core scripture has been 2 Timothy 2:8-9, and the Apostle Paul told Timothy that he was persecuted and imprisoned by evildoers, enduring the suffering of chains. Paul certainly had the opportunity to be afraid of what was going to happen to him. He had people even tell him, “If you travel to this place, bad things are going to happen to you.” He could have feared and said, “Okay, I’m not going”, but that would have gone against what God had called him to do.
Fear will masquerade itself in different forms. At times, it will sound like wisdom and concern…just making sure you know you’re doing the right thing. We think we’re being wise and consider all the options of what potentially could go wrong with the situation, but then we’ll make an “educated” decision. But in reality, we should simply do what God’s calling us to do.
If God’s called you to do something, He’s empowered you and made a way for you to do it. Step out and do it and don’t be concerned about what the wisdom of this world says.
The Bad (Evil) Report
“Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’ But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.’ And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, ‘The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.’” – NUMBERS 13:30-32 (NKJV)
Caleb said, “What God has said, we can do! Let’s head out and make this happen!” But other spies who were with Caleb and Joshua – and seen and heard the same thing – reported, “We are not able to go up against these people, for they are stronger than we.” They gave a bad (or evil) report of the land. They couldn’t…but God could. But because they chose not to believe that, they ultimately couldn’t. That fear was what was in their hearts.
Whatever fight you’re fighting today, God says He’ll fight it for you; believe in Him and believe what He says to do and then DO IT. But you have to be settled on that. As you do this, you’re letting God fight through you to make it come to pass.
Fear will paralyze you and prevent you from possessing the promise. What happened with the children of Israel? Instead of entering the land God promised them, they walked around in circles in a desert for 40 years. They could not move forward because they were in fear. Meanwhile, Joshua and Caleb were sitting there, sharpening their swords, shining their shields, training and preparing to possess the promises because they never stopped believing that what God said He could do, he would do.
Fear kept the Israelites – except Caleb and Joshua – looking at themselves instead of looking at God. Fear will enslave you, but when you have a revelation of God’s love for you, it will free you.
The Chain of Fear vs. Faith
I’ve heard people say that fear and faith are opposites. I don’t believe that. Fear and love are opposites. Fear is faith in the wrong direction. The Israelites had faith that the enemy would kill them, so if they went up against them, what was going to happen? Their faith would bring that to pass and they’d be dead! We’re creatures of faith; we’re made to operate and live in faith and by faith.
Romans 8:15 tells us, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage AGAIN to fear…” If it says “again”, that means we must have had it at one time. He’s called us out of darkness into light (1 Peter 2:9); He’s called us out of the kingdom of hate into love. He’s called us out of the kingdom of this world into His kingdom. The verse continues, “but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out ‘Abba Father.’” That spirit of adoption is a spirit of love. That’s a perfect love.
When love is the foundation in which we begin our walk of faith, fear has no chance!
To watch the April 24, 2022 service on which this blog is based, CLICK HERE.
This is part of the Chain Breakers series.
