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. –NKJV 

Here is a timely subject. It’s been in my list of post titles for some time now, perhaps waiting for such a time as this. And no, I’m not digging it out to preach at anyone. I’ve had fears of various kinds throughout my life. They’ve usually not been the same as the fears the masses have. For example, right now I feel no fear about the Corona Virus. But having experienced fears of many other kinds, I am no one to cast judgement. The only blame I have is for those who are intentionally creating the fear. But even with them, I have to pause and realize, our battle is not against flesh and blood.

But since there are those who are intentionally creating fear in order to capitalize on it by selling stories—and politically as well—there need to be people standing for the Word of God. He does not change. He is exactly the same as He was when that verse was written and He hasn’t changed His mind because of any of our circumstances.

Fear Is Not From God

Fear still doesn’t come from God. It is a tool of the enemy to debilitate us. To make us shrivel up inside and make us useless as warriors of faith. That doesn’t mean we are acting according to the enemy’s plans every time we exercise caution. All it means is, we need to check our motives. Are we moving in the Spirit of wisdom, which comes from God, or the spirit of fear, which comes from the enemy? 

The answer to that question tells us all we need to know. If we are moving in wisdom, God’s blessing will be on our actions and He will be glorified. His Kingdom will advance. Our faith will increase. 

The Counterfeit

Fear glorifies the enemy and justifies our weakness, rather than causing us in our weakness to turn to God. And though fear is the opposite of faith and is cast out by perfect love, it is perhaps the counterfeit of wisdom. Knowing this can give us greater discernment. For everything God ordains, there is a counterfeit from the enemy. But this counterfeit seems even more dangerous than usual somehow. For it is not only used as a means to embrace fear when courage is needed, it is also used to cause many to reflexively spurn wisdom, mistaking it for fear, when caution is needed. In other words, not only is fear mistaken for wisdom, but many times wisdom is also mistaken for fear. 

The only answer to the whole dilemma is, as I mentioned above—perfect love. If we receive the perfect love of the Father day in and day out and allow it to permeate completely, we will learn to recognize the voice of our Shepherd. And when the voice of the enemy comes in fear, we can rebuke it with the authority granted to us in Jesus Christ. Fear is a spirit, not simply a human emotion and it needs to be dealt with as such.

 So let’s pray for great discernment and authority in these trying times. And let’s allow the perfect love of God to increase in us and cast out all fear.