THE FEAR FACTOR By: Patsy Weiser
Have you ever been afraid of something? I think we all have at one time or another. Perhaps it is fear of heights, fear of dying, fear of rejection, fear of someone, etc. etc. The devil uses fear in our lives for many reasons. Fear can become so real that it paralyzes us and steals our joy. This in turn keeps us a prisoner, if only in our own minds and keeps us from fulfilling the purpose for which God created us. If the devil can keep us bound in fear, he has accomplished his goal.
The best way for us to overcome our fear is to face it. Acknowledge what it is, ask God to show us the lie behind it, and ask Him to forgive us for letting fear rather than faith control us. Then release it to God. Search for scriptures that address fear to use as weapons against the enemy every time he tries to torment us again. My favorite scripture to use is: 2 Timothy 1: 7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Claim this scripture as many times a day as needed…speak it out loud. The word of God does not ever return void but will accomplish what it is intended for (my paraphrase of Isaiah 55:11). If you will remember, Jesus used the word of God to defeat the devil when He was being tempted in the wilderness. If it worked for Him, it will also work for us. Hearing ourselves quote scripture will also build our faith. It is said that, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10: 17) The enemy hates it when we respond to him with scripture. Victory may not happen immediately, but be encouraged that diligence and persistence in resisting the devil will make him flee from you (James 4:7).
Standing on the promises of God found in His word will make your FAITH be bigger than your fear. (Scriptures are taken from the NKJV.)