“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 AMP

God did not give us a spirit of fear – God is not the author of fear – God is love and perfect love casts out fear! All fear comes from the devil. Not one kind of fear comes from God. The devil sows fear into people and then uses their fears to control and intimidate them. Faith is complete and absolute trust in the living God. Fear manifests itself in the absence of faith. There was no fear in the Garden of Eden until trust was broken and sin and guilt entered in through temptation and disobedience. We open the door to fear when we start to believe the lies of the enemy. You could say that we have faith when we believe the word of God and we have fear when we believe the word of the devil.

Since, therefore, [these His] children share in flesh and blood [in the physical nature of human beings], He [Himself] in a similar manner partook of the same [nature], that by [going through] death He might bring to nought and make of no effect him who had the power of death–that is, the devil–15 And also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the [haunting] fear of death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives.  Hebrews 2:14-15 AMP

Fear is paralyzing and keeps people in deep bondage. The strongest fear people have is the fear of death. Jesus came to die and rise again, defeating the devil and taking back the keys of death, hell, and the grave. Now, if you believe what Jesus has done for you and receive him as Lord and Savior, you lose your fear of death, because you know that even when this physical body dies, you will continue to live on. Eternal life is yours from now on, into eternity. If the worst thing that can happen to you is dying, and you no longer have a reason to fear death, then why should you be afraid of anything else or anyone else, ever again? Jesus told us to not be afraid of man – those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. He told us rather to be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). God is the One we should be in awe of – not any man, nor any devil. God is the One whose opinion counts; He is the One we should respect; He is the One whose word will never pass away.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid What can man do to me?”   Hebrews 13:4-6 NIV

The only way to get rid of fear is to apply the word of God and your faith to the situation. Faith comes through the knowledge of God and His word – no other way. God said He would never leave you or forsake you. You can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” If God is for us then who can be against us? If God is on our side there is nothing that can touch us and no one who can harm us (Romans 8:31; Psalms 118:6). His word tells us that he has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. God gives peace of mind in the midst of chaos.

God has given us a spirit of power. We have power over the devil, power over fear, power over temptation, and every other evil thing that comes our way on a daily basis.

God has given us a spirit of love. Perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). Fear brings with it the thought of punishment, but when we have a revelation of God’s love for us, and His mercy and forgiveness; we have no fear of what He might do to us. Only those who don’t know the Lord are afraid of Him – or they should be.

God has given us a spirit of calm and well-balanced mind. Fear does not need to rule your mind! When you know what God’s word says, you can and should take authority over your mind. Take authority over your thought life. Take authority over your will and your emotions. Your mind is like a child. If left to its own devices, it will run wild. You need to take charge of your mind and tell it what to think. As a sinner, your mind was programmed with all kinds of junk and fear. As a believer, you have a responsibility to yourself to kick all that junk and fear out and reprogram your mind with the life-altering principles of God’s word.

God has given us a spirit of discipline and self-control. Fear does not need to rule your life! You can take authority – by the power of the word and the Holy Spirit – over fears that manifest themselves in and through your body. You can speak peace to your body. You need to tell your body what to do – not the other way around. You can walk victoriously in this life through the power of the word of God!