Fear is the opposite of faith. We receive from the enemy through fear, and we receive from God through faith. Fear is the enemy’s brand of faith, his counterfeit of it. In other words, we can know and do God’s will through placing our faith in Him, but we can cooperate with the devil’s plan through fear. When we are afraid, we may fail to do what God wants us to do and, instead, end up doing what the devil wants us to do. The Old Testament man Job said that what he feared came upon him (see Job 3:25), which is exactly what the enemy wanted for him and what he wants for us. The enemy is the author of fear, not God. In fact, 2 Timothy 1:7 says God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and we need to apply this truth to our lives and refuse to live any way other than powerfully.
I want to share something I have been practicing aggressively lately. I have found it very helpful, and I believe you will too. When fear knocks on the door of our lives, if it finds us full of faith, it cannot enter in. I strongly urge you to meditate on and confess that you are filled with faith. I say it like this, “I am a woman of faith. I think faith, talk faith, and walk in faith.” I also choose portions of Scripture about faith and meditate on them. Hebrews 11:6 is a good example: “Without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarded of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].” The more I meditate on faith and believe I am a woman filled with it, the stronger and more energetic I feel. Fear weakens us in every way, but faith adds courage, boldness, confidence, and actual energy to our lives.
In 1 Timothy 6:12, Paul encouraged Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith” (NKJV). We all need to fight this good fight and I believe meditating on and confessing God’s Word is the way to do it.
Remember, we are in a war and the battlefield is the mind. If you are accustomed to allowing your mind to go wherever it pleases, meditating on the Word of God will require forming a new habit. Don’t become discouraged if you find that you have good intentions but fail many times. I can assure you that everyone has the same experience in the beginning of this journey.
Pray for God’s grace to enable you and don’t merely “try” to do it. Quite often, we try very hard without asking for God’s assistance, but He always wants to help us obey Him, so all you have to do is ask. Ask Him to help you develop an ability to concentrate and focus on power thoughts that will enable you, rather than entertaining “Uninvited Guests” (thoughts) that will disable you.
When Satan comes to attack you with fear, make sure you are filled with faith so there will be no place of entrance for him. Fear and faith cannot coexist; where you have one, you will not have the other. God’s Word builds faith in your heart, so use it-and you’ll keep fear out of your life.
Think about It
How can you demonstrate faith instead of fear?
