Have you ever been afraid?
Afraid to share your faith or afraid of what people think?
The thing about fear is, it is fickle. It likes to keep us trapped so it does not lose its power over us. The enemy likes to use fear as one of His tactics to scare us from walking in our God-given callings.
Fear of man is a snare that trips us from seeing our full potential in who we are in Christ. It is fickle because fear blinds us from the freedom and authority we already have in Christ. Fear becomes a muzzle to prevent us from speaking the truth.
When we are afraid to speak the truth we are silenced from fear. Whether we are afraid of what people will think or assumptions they will make.
I admit I have allowed fear in the past to silence me from speaking the truth. The result was feeling disappointed in myself by not being obedient to God in saying yes to what He was asking me to do.
Let me tell you when you stay trapped in fear it not only leaves you feeling disappointed in yourself, but also tied to wanting to please people over God. Fear is a trap that keeps us enslaved to people pleasing and silence.
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
Proverbs 29:25 ESV
The moment you experience freedom of fear through God’s love you begin to no longer be a slave to fear. You are released from fear to speak truth without hesitation.
It is a weight lifted off your shoulders where you begin to speak with authority God has given you. Becoming freed from fear is a transformation process. Where you see yourself no longer bound by fear, but are able to see you are secured in the spirit of love.
For this reason I remind you to fan the flame the gift of God, Which is in you through the laying on of hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:6-7 ESV
Finding freedom in fear is about seeing yourself through God’s eyes. It is shifting how you look at fear. When you see how fear does not control you. You can tell the spirit of fear to leave. This becomes about realizing God has lifted the fear and muzzle off of you, because His spirit is in you. You are no longer marked by fear but by God.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4: 18-19 ESV
Allow God’s love to be perfected in you. Soak in His presence and see you are severed from fear. God’s perfect love is upon you. His love has saturated every part of you. Fear can no longer hold you down or trap you in its snare. My hope is this encourages you to see, you are bound in God’s love and not the muzzle from fear of man.
Fear can be powerful if we allow it to control us. If we let it, fear can prevent us from stepping into our callings. It can become about pleasing man instead of putting God first in pleasing Him. We are not here to please man but to please God.
Fear does not own you. You are created by God alone who loves you. He created you out of love and saw you worthy is in His eyes. I know someone needed to hear those words. I needed to hear those words as well.
It is funny how God uses our own words to not just bring freedom to others but for us. I read a book recently again that reminded me how powerful someones words can be. I loved reading Nate Johnston’s book, “The Wild Ones” because it was powerful and life changing in bringing freedom from fear. He says,
“Right now, that muzzle is coming off, and the irrational fear is leaving your life for good. You are not owned, and this spirit cannot claim what God has washed in His blood. You are His, and every cord attached to this kind of controlling and manipulative spirit is being severed. God is moving things and people out of your life that constantly keep you bound in a season you are meant to soar in. Even now, the chains are being broken in the name of Jesus.”
Nate Johnston, The Wild Ones
This is a powerful quote because fear is irrational and it does not own us. We are free in Jesus. Fear cannot keep us captive because we are washed in the blood of Jesus.
One of the important things about this quote is how we battle in the spiritual realm and not with flesh and blood. The spirit of fear is about doing things to please man. Whereas, since we are in Christ we do not have to please man but God alone.
Remember you are released from fear. It doesn’t belong to you!
References:
The Holy Bible English Standard Version, Crossway Publishing, Wheaton IL, 2001,
Johnston, Nate, The Wild Ones, The Pioneer Call Of Emerging Voices From The Wilderness To The Frontlines, Destiny Image Publishers, Shippensburg PA, 2021