For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
One of my favorite stories comes from motivational speaker, Les Brown. He talked about living in a neighborhood, during his childhood years, when he had to pass a dog every day on his way to and from school. This dog would bark, growl, and chase after Les every time he saw him so that Les had to run to escape the dog’s wrath.
One day, Les reports heading home from school and he was tired. He was in no mood to run from this mutt but, sure enough, as soon as the dog saw Les he came after him. Les was done with this game and when the dog got to him, he turned around, looked the dog straight in the eyes and yelled, “NO!” The dog stopped, looked at Les, and then opened his mouth. And what happened next? Les says, “The dog had no teeth! The only thing he could do was gum me to death!” Les used this story to teach a valuable lesson about fear. He said, “Fear often stands for “False Expectations Appearing Real.”
I am surprised by the number of people who call themselves Christians but live in almost constant fear. They are afraid of people, afraid of what they might lose or what they might gain, afraid of commitment, or afraid of getting sick. None of this should be true for those of us who truly believe God’s Word and have placed our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
And yet, fear must be one of the most common struggles for the disciple of Jesus Christ? How do we know this is true? Because God felt the need to continuously address this issue in His Word. In addition to the above verse from Paul’s second letter to Timothy, look at the following verses:
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10).
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18).
“ Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
These verses should at least help you to get rid of any sense of shame for being afraid – it happens to all of us! However, despite the fact that all of us struggle with fear, God still commands us regularly to not be afraid. As you can see from 2 Timothy 1:7, fear does not come from God – it is part of our sin condition. And like all sin, we can overcome fear by relying on our faith in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit within us, that spirit of “power and love and self-control.”
So how do we overcome fear? The Lord has actually given us a way to handle fear in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippian church. He writes, “[Do] not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6, ESV). Let me ask you:
- What is your first reaction when you are scared or feel anxious? Do you go to God first?
- When you pray and ask Him for help, do you do it with thanksgiving?
- Are you aware that the very next verse in Philippians comes with a promise? “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7, ESV).
Pray, my friend, with thanksgiving. Give God all of your fears for He will gladly take them from you so that you can receive His transcendent peace.
Published on Jan 14 @ 3:39 AM EDT
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By Loretta Shelton and Pastor Marlin Harris
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7
The Apostle Paul uses an illustration in 2 Timothy 4:7 reminiscent of competing in the Roman Olympic games in order to demonstrate the Christian believer’s life of faithfulness. He says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
What is remarkable is that Paul makes these comments while imprisoned in a Roman jail knowing he is at the end of his life, and consequently at the end of his God-given mission. Throughout Paul’s Christian journey, he remained steadfast and loyal to his calling, despite the unimaginable obstacles and perils that he faced. Paul remained faithful to his ministry for the sake of Christ by fighting what he called “the good fight of faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). This means he maintained a godly character, lived by Biblical principles, and was unwavering in his faith and trust in God. This characterized Paul’s life regardless of the unpleasant circumstances that he was often attacked with. He did not rely on his past service, but he persevered and served God until crossing the finish line at the end of his ministry on earth.
Like the Apostle Paul, we must live this Christian life with the same convictions and fortitude as the athletes who were competing in the Roman games. Christians must run the race, fight the good fight, and endure hardships valiantly, in order to receive the prize of an incorruptible crown that never fades away. The qualifications required to receive this coveted prize are to run lawfully and diligently until we finish. Running this race means honoring God with our hearts and bodies, developing a character that looks more and more like Christ each day, and living a life that pleases our Father, and is worthy of the great redemption that we have been graced to receive. We must start, run, and then finish the race. We will finish, because no believer ever runs the race of his life alone. The Lord Jesus Christ runs with us, and He will get us to the finish line, if we stay the course and “finish well and finish strong”.
When you are running the race of life there are a few things you want to be sure to do. First of all, you must be spiritually prepared for the journey. This spiritual preparation is impossible without being filled with the Holy Spirit, for which there is no substitute. The scripture is clear that we are to be empowered by the Holy Spirit if we hope to accomplish anything in this life that brings glory to God. The Spirit of God empowers us with wisdom, strength, and godliness that causes the blessings of God to rest upon our journey. He alone conditions our hearts to endure the pain of the race, and to not turn back or give up before we reach the finish line.
Secondly, we must endure the necessary disciplines needed to prepare us for the rigor of the race we are to run. When runners prepare for lengthy marathons they will often spend months preparing themselves physically for that one race. They will attempt smaller races and work their legs and test their endurance with exercise regimens. They do this so that when they are in the ‘big’ race, they will have the strength to finish. Finishing our Christian race is more about the strength of our spirit than it is about the desire we may have in our hearts. Many people start out with Christ, and they desire greatly to finish, but they have not developed the spiritual strength to endure the trials and tests that befall them along their journey and they, sadly, fall away.
Jesus speaks about this reality in Matthew 13:1-9 when He shares the Parable of the Sower, where he outlines four different scenarios of seed-planting. One of his 4 scenarios involves a farmer who sowed his seeds in soil that was cluttered with rocks. He says that the soil received the seed quickly, but because the ground had not been tilled and prepared, the rocks were too numerous in the soil and made the soil depth shallow. Soon the seed died in the soil because there was no depth created by tilling. This is what happens to any of us who set out to run this Christian race, and we have not had the hard, stony rocks in our hearts, minds, and habits broken up and tilled away. Without the discipline of dedicated study of the Word of God, the daily practice of prayer, and regular worship and thanksgiving to God, we will not be able to break those hard rocks that have settled into our hearts and have made them resistant and impervious to the convictions and truths of the Word of God.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, every sincere believer must have an ardent and passionate desire to finish their race well. God placed that desire in your heart when you gave your hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way to satisfy that aching and longing in your soul to finish well is to daily discipline your life with the Spiritual practices of prayer, worship, and time in the Word. As you attend to the things of God, He will attend to the cares and desires of your heart. Let’s lay aside the weights and the many distractions, and run this race with all we have so that when we are finished, we will feel our Master’s embrace and hear him say, “Well done”.
PRAYER
Holy Father, we all have our own individual race to run. May You grant us the strength and the conviction to run our race well. Remove the hindrances from our path, and unchain our feet from the heavy weights and burdens that have weighed us down. Lord, grant us the freedom to run and not get weary, and to walk and not faint. In Jesus’ Strong Name, I pray. Amen.
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE
Spend today surveying your life to determine what are those weights and distractions that make it difficult for you to finish your race well. Consider those challenges, temptations, and tests that you are engaged in daily, and actively name them before the Lord, and make the decision to do whatever is necessary to lay them aside. Seek the Lord for His strength and lean upon the Holy Spirit for His guidance.
Published on Jan 31 @ 12:38 AM EDT
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Patty
Fear is a spirit that we fight daily: fear of saying the wrong thing, fear of hurting someone feelings, etc. Reading these scriptures bring "peace" into my daily life. What a great way to start the day!
Posted on Thu, Jan 14, 2021 @ 6:36 AM CST
Contessa
Thank You, Thank You!!! This was much needed and I Thank God for anointing you with this devotion to encourage us and remind us about FEAR.
Posted on Thu, Jan 14, 2021 @ 6:57 AM CST
Victoria Clegg
Beautiful message.
Posted on Thu, Jan 14, 2021 @ 7:31 AM CST
Reginald Grimes
This devotional along with Pastor Harris’s teaching and prayer on fear this morning was really on point for me. So many times I have given into fear and missed my blessings. I now have the tools, God’s word and prayer, to overcome it!
Thank you
Posted on Thu, Jan 14, 2021 @ 7:35 AM CST
Carlos R. Barham
Today's Devotional was very inspiring. I appreciate you allowing GOD to use you. With GOD on my side we can conquer all things. I love you, Pastor Harris and New Life Family. KoKo and I miss the Physical Fellowship , but GOD is in control. Hallelujah!
Posted on Thu, Jan 14, 2021 @ 9:08 AM CST
Deanna kelly
Fear ????Great Messages
Posted on Thu, Jan 14, 2021 @ 2:40 PM CST
shirley
this message was very helpfull i grew up afraid of everything didnt know how to control it when i got saved i ask god to help me to not always be afraid he did things got better but i still struggle form time to time
Posted on Fri, Jan 15, 2021 @ 3:57 AM CST