Faith over fear is like standing on a ledge and choosing to believe the person behind you will catch you instead of push you.
Awesome, right? I had a friend say this to me and it spoke right to my soul. I came right home and I looked up 2 timothy 1:7
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power,love and self-discipline.
Despite ALL the boxes and time I have spent and spend in my prayer closet I am still a victim of fear. The Devil LOVES to plant doubt and disbelief in my mind. He likes to watch me squirm. That guy really chaps my hide.
I know the scripture as some of you, but like some of you I say it and say it AND say it. So much so that it kind of lost it’s punch. So today I wanted to dissect it a little to see what each of those words meant. I wanted to know what I was being promised so here we go.
LOVE
So what IS love? What does it mean to say we have the spirit of love?
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4)
Um..Yeah I am guilty of doing the opposite. I can’t be the only one who finds it hard to show love to a person when they have hurt me? When I am scared or doubting I will admit I am not quick to jump to loving them, but I am getting better. I hope. I have taken it upon myself to repeat this little verse right behind the word love in 2 Timothy. It helps remind me that even though I have been hurt I can overcome the fear by focusing on the purity of love.
Faith over fear, isn’t that what I said? To have that I need love since it believes, hopes, endures all things. It is scary, holding on to fear feels safe and justified. We have evidence to the contrary! I will get hurt again! Right?... Well if I am honest I could and will that IS inevitable. The world is broken. Eve ate that apple and now I have the knowledge of good AND evil, and that means pain. Hurt. This is why we are instructed to focus on the pure, the upright, the LOVELY.
POWER
♪♪ ♫ I’ve got the power ♪♪ ♫
This was my favorite word to look up. I know I knew I had power but I never understood what that actually meant.
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you (Luke 10:19)
Say what now? I knew I had the power to move mountains and a little faith goes a long way, but I can stand against the enemy. I will admit, reading this ages ago I only thought of it being towards those who were against me, but the enemy, the actual Devil himself! Shut the front door Jesus!
After looking into this power I found James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
HE WILL FLEE FROM ME!! ME! A mere mortal will cause the Devil to run! Now that makes me feel strong and puts a smile on my face. To choose faith over fear means I have the power to turn to the Devil, look him in the eye and say,
"Satan, you are a liar. I will not receive (or believe) your lie in the name of Jesus" (see2 Corinthians 10:5). "I remind you that it is written, …He who lives in [me] is greater (mightier)than he who is in the world. I command you to bow your knee to the name of Jesus and leave me." (see 1 John 4:4). Joyce Myers Ministries
SELF-DISCIPLINE/ SOUND MIND/ SELF-CONTROL
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power,love and self-discipline.2 timothy 1:7
To have a sound mind, self discipline, self-control is to have God’s Spirit, which is His power and mind essence, actually allows us to develop a mind that is temperate, disciplined and self-controlled. It is peaceful and full of wisdom.
To have his mind essence is to think like God thinks. To get this we must have his spirit, right? I can try to think like God thinks, but his understanding and knowledge are BEYOND what I can fathom. It is impossible to do. The only way to truly want what God wants is to get the spirit of God in us.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.(John 14:26)
Having faith over fear is to remember, to be still, and listen to the spirit. To know I will be lead by the spirit to know I am safe, protected and I will be guided how to act. In the moment I am being refined. Even through fear I am growing in my faith.
For me, fear happens when I take my eyes and focus off the Lord. When I start to look at my husband and wonder what he is thinking, where he is going, what he is going to say or how he will react I am overtaken with fear. Yet when I drown myself in the Father I find peace and serenity. When I pray, sing, and stay in the scripture my life is a lot less scary. I find I really do have love, power, and a sound mind. I am exercising my faith over fear.
