Getting Clear on Fear

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind", 2 Timothy 1:7.

Fear is the lie that God is not good.

Learning the root source and effects of the spirit of fear helps us expose and overcome it. Discovering the strongholds built on fear in my life was a key turning point in my healing. As I began to believe God and take responsibility for my thoughts, emotions and behavior, the strongholds crumbled and I got free. We were made to be free.

“There are two kinds of fear: Godly and carnal.”

Wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding", Prov 9:10. When we fear something, we are taking a measurement of that object, person or influence and simultaneously measuring your ability to come against it. There are two kinds of fear, Godly and carnal. Fearing God means measuring Him as greatest of all. His power, His love, His abilities are stronger than anything in all creation. Ephesians 3:18 talks about us knowing how wide, long, high and deep Christ's love is. A truly accurate measurement of something includes its volume. God's volume is goodness. Godly fear is a full appreciation of God's awesome nature, power and love. It is wise to esteem the greatest force in the universe with healthy reverence. Gaining knowledge of Him gives us understanding we need for bringing order to our lives

Carnal fear stems from the belief that God is not completely, constantly good. This lie against God's goodness was born in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3). Satan, the Father of Lies was able to convince Eve that God was a withholder, with a dark motive. He pointed to the limitation of a single tree as evidence against him. Instead of fearing God; measuring Him as most worthy of her love and loyalty, she chose to believe the lie and sinned. She could have measured His generosity, evident in all the other trees she was free to eat from, as well as the abundance of nourishment and beauty around her. Instead, she gave more weight to her desire than her obedience, changing everything. It is this fear that makes us feel powerless, unloved and unstable.

Carnal fear, fears what the flesh fears. Lack, loss, pain - when we measure these things as greater than our love and respect for God, we are operating out of the lie. Lies bring bondage, truth sets us free. The truth is God is worthy of our love and obedience because He is thoroughly and consistently good, always.

A sound mind: Measuring God as greatest.

Prayer for Godly fear: Heavenly Father, thank you that you are completely and constantly good. Thank you that your goodness has nothing to do with me, it is who you are, who you've always been and always will be. Help me to measure you correctly, to learn the greatness of your love and power. I reject the lie against your utter goodness. Please give me wisdom for how to live out of power, love and a sound mind. In Christ's name, amen.

All rights reserved Veronica Jimenez, Sound Mind Awareness ©2014.