fear is an empty threat

image source: freeimages.com/Matt Williams

'You have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he has prepared to destroy.

And where is the fury of the oppressor?'

Isaiah 51:13b

One of the first secrets that I discovered in regards to the stronghold of fear I had in my life was this:

As children of God, the enemy has no actual power over us.

His power lies in one place, one tactic, one approach; Lies. He reverses truth and uses it to emotionally and mentally crush us. But it only works if we buy into his lies. You see, fear thrives on the possibility of something terrible happening. It is all smoke and mirrors. The enemy does not have the control over our life that we think he does. He simply scares us into thinking he has control and the reason his suggestions are SO terrifying are because they are exactly the OPPOSITE of truth. They are fueled by the belief that we may somehow escape the mercy and protection of God (which is impossible) and fall into the hands of the enemy.

Because of this knowledge, we can learn to take fear very lightly. It is not a vessel of truth.

It is an empty threat.

Just like Goliath.

God had promised the children of Israel that they would possess the land that He had appointed for them. They were to fight the Philistines and take command of the land that God had set aside for them, knowing that they would be victorious in battle.

Goliath, however, put fear in the hearts of the Isrealites. He expressively paraded and taunted the army of Israel every day for forty days, breaking into their confidence and making them tremble in their sandals and doubt the Living God, who was actually in charge. Who actually had full control of the situation and had promised them protection and success.

But the Isrealites couldn't see past Goliath. They were tricked into thinking that their future was in his hands. That he would crush them and nullify the promises of God on their life. 1 Samuel 17:10 tells us that 'when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.'

When we feel afraid or dismayed we can be sure that somewhere, at some point, we have fallen for a lie.

The Israelites spent forty days in paralysis, being tormented by Goliath's daily parade. Their fear was the result of engaging with Goliath's lie.

It took a fresh, young man (inexperienced in battle) to put the situation into perspective. David recognised that Goliath was a toothless bully whose threats were empty. And as such, David was not afraid. He could trust wholeheartedly in the knowledge that the Lord would knock Goliath on the head. The fact that Goliath crashed under the weight of a simple pebble is testimony to the fact that God was in complete control of the entire situation. Nothing and no one could prevail against His will. Too bad the whole army didn't realise that. They could have saved themselves forty days of anguish.

We too, can take a lesson from this. The only way the enemy can hurt us is by getting into our head, convincing us that we need to fear him. When we mull over his empty threats, we engage in doubt and circular thinking and become fearful, miserable and confused. We forget the good news of who we are! Children of a living God! Children whom God is protecting and perfecting and working all things together for good.

Fear will only get you if you engage in it. When we find ourselves feeling afraid we need to recognise that somewhere, somehow there is a false belief at work: a Goliath trying to steal our peace.

Our battle plan is simple.

Recognise that the enemy has no actual power over us. It doesn’t matter how big Goliath is, how noisy, relentless or intimidating. He can be safely dismissed. You don't buy his charade any more. Instead, silence him with truth. You are safe. Protected. Loved by God. And growing stronger every day,

'For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. 

And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.' 

1 John 5:4

This is the second installment on a series of fear that I will be doing on this blog. Check back in the coming days for more on fear and how to take back control of a worried, fretting mind.

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