“Replace Your Fears”
October 31, 2021
Halloween, with its spiders, ghosts, and goblins, makes for a spooktacularly frightful time of trick or treating and working up a good fear! It is also the time of year when studies are done on the most common phobias, or morbid fears, across the U.S.A.
The top five phobias in 2021, according to YourLocalSecurity.com, in each state of the U.S. were fear of: failure (Massachusetts), blood (Tennessee), water (PA), intimacy (NY), spiders (SC), and a fear of the outside (SD). Massachusetts fears failure more than anything else, yet boasts the highest percentage of college graduates. What an incentive to succeed! The fear of intimacy in New York may make sense when one realizes that New York ranks fifth in the nation for its share of single adults. You can view the complete list of phobias by state by clicking here.
While it can be fun to work up a good fright one day of the year, it is a good reminder from the Bible, that God does not give us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of love.
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7
A bit of context may help here. Paul, the apostle, wrote the letter, 2 Timothy, tohis beloved spiritual son, Timothy. Chapter one of the letter addresses many things, but one thing in particular—Timothy’s timidity. Paul saw the fear Timothy sometimes felt, but Paul wanted Timothy to know that his fear was not from the God he served—“for God gave us a spirit not of fear.” For example, Timothy had a tender shepherd’s heart for the people he served, which was good, but Paul encouraged Timothy to develop his boldness so that he could really lead and protect the flock. Paul was saying that Timothy should be bold in using the gifts God had given him, because God had given Timothy a spirit of power and love and self-control.
We all face situations in which we are fearful and afraid. It may be fear of speaking up, fear of confrontation, fear of rejection. We all deal with fear. However, the first step in dealing with our fears is to understand that they are not from God. Our fears may be from our personality, or weaknesses we have, but they are not from God.
The second step in dealing with our fears is to understand what God has given us—“a spirit of power and love and self-control.” God has given us a spirit of power to do His work, proclaim His Word, and be ambassadors for His kingdom. We need not fear.
God has also given us a spirit of love. Many think of power in terms of how much we can control others. However, Jesus’ power is expressed in how much we can love and serve others. It helps to remember that on the night before Jesus was crucified, when Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands, Jesus used His power to humbly wash His disciples’ feet (John 13:1-11).
Finally, God has given us a “spirit of…self-control”. The ancient Greek word for self-control implies a calm and controlled mind, in contrast to the panic and confusion that often accompanies a fearful situation.
Fear and timidity will keep us from using the gifts God gives. God wants us to take His power, His love, His calm thinking and overcome fear, to be used of Him with all the gifts He gives. We do not need to accept what God has NOT given us (a spirit of fear), but we do need to humbly receive and walk in what He HAS given us (a spirit of power and love and self-control).
But once a year, on Halloween, it can be fun to balk at things that go bump in the night, dread the dark, and shutter at spiders. Happy Haunting for a day!