2nd 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)
Life is filled with situations and conditions that can intimidate us.
- Sometimes, we are afraid of our past and how it may influence our future
- Sometimes we are afraid of the competition we face at school or in our careers
- Sometimes we are afraid of imminent disgrace and embarrassment concerning our finances or other situations of life.
While these situations are real, and we have to face them, God tells us not to be afraid or anxious because He has not given us the Spirit of fear.
Fear can be defined as a weapon of Satan intended to sabotage your future. Fear sabotages the future by bringing in anxiety, confusion and an inability to make sound decisions.
Our reference scripture gives us a clear antidote to fear in whatever situations we might encounter: THE SPIRIT WHICH GOD HAS GIVEN US – THE HOLY SPIRIT.
The Spirit of God in this verse is described as the Spirit of power, love and sound mind.
POWER: Because left to our own selves we can do nothing on our own but when we rely on the Holy Spirit, He makes what looks impossible to become possible. Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (NIV)
LOVE: Because the Holy Spirit pours God love into our hearts. When we have this love in our hearts, we realize that whatever task God wants us to accomplish is really not about us but about God and other people. This way, we can forget about ourselves and do exploits in the name of God. Romans 5:3-5 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
SOUND MIND: Because you do not have desires or make decisions arbitrarily, rather only as the Holy Spirit communicates God’s mind to you. 1 Corinthians 2:12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.(NIV)
So what next? You have not been given the spirit of fear, overcome fear in your life by the Spirit of POWER; LOVE and SOUND MIND in you.
PRAYER: Thank you Lord for the truth in your word. Now I know the Spirit that lives within me. I choose to conquer every challenging life situation by the Spirit of power, love and of a sound mind in Jesus name. Amen.