Living without Fear

As God’s children, it’s very comforting to always remember God’s original intention for humanity. We need to go back to Genesis, the first Book of the Old Testament, and remind ourselves of Adam’s and Eve’s blissful reality of fellowship with God. Before they sinned against Him, they enjoyed the privilege of walking and talking with God daily. No good thing was withheld from them, but their reality drastically changed after sin entered the picture. In Mark 7:20-23(NLT), our Master Jesus tells us a little bit about this. He said, “20 It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you." This state of mind and heart is dreadful, but Christ made it possible for us to escape all this. In demonstration of our gratitude to God for what He’s done for us through Christ, we should do everything we possibly can to always maintain a blissful state of mind.

We have been so inundated with the world’s negativity that it is challenging for some of us to accept that a blissful state of mind is even possible, but indeed it is. God commands us in Philippians 2:5(NKJV), “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Our precious Lord and Savior had a blissful state of mind because his mind was always focused on God and doing the Father’s Will. This is a mind that leads to increased faith and greater blessings. We must trust and believe that God would not tell us to do something that we’re incapable of doing. He tells us to put on the mind of Christ because through His Word He has provided everything we need to do this. He means for us to get it done. Putting on the mind of Christ is a requirement if we aim to have our feet firmly planted on the path of faith and gratitude towards God.

God’s Word states in Philippians 4:6-7(NLT), “6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” God wants us to have peace and not worry about the situations of life. We all have challenges, and some are doozies, but our Heavenly Father wants us to lean on Him. He wants us to have faith in His love and power. Some of us place more faith in the problem than in God, the One that can solve all our problems. We need to shift this so that we can have the attitude of gratitude that pleases Him, and this keeps the doors of blessings open to our lives.

God is pleased when we demonstrate gratitude for all that He is and all that He has done for our lives, but we can’t have faith and fear at the same time. When we are fearful and afraid, we’re not demonstrating faith in God. Fear came on the scene along with shame when Adam and Eve sinned. Genesis 3:9-10(NLT) says, “9 Then the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He replied, "I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked." There’s nothing new under the sun. In our modern times, we’ve given fear loads of names, but no matter the name, fear is the same today as it was thousands of years ago. It is an enemy of faith, and we need to know the truth about it.

God doesn’t get angry with us or withhold His blessings when we don’t believe His Word as wholeheartedly as we should, but He has commanded us to change our minds, to renew them to His Word so that we’re knowledgeable about His promises. He wants us to know how much He loves us, and that He wants to help us.

Jesus Christ is our example, and he didn’t live in fear. Neither should we. When he was in the wilderness, having fasted forty days and nights, he was tempted by satan. Jesus responded to everything that the enemy threw at him with “It is written…” In Matthew 4:4(NKJV), he told the devil, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Jesus Christ didn’t use his own words. He said what God has said in His Word. He repeated the truth of Deuteronomy 8:3. He used the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and the enemy had to flee. You and I have this same authority when we stand on the truth of God’s Word.

So, faith requires a different mindset. We have to change the way we think and learn to think new thoughts–thoughts that line up with the thoughts of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul teaches in Philippians 4:8-9(NLT), “8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing.” This is the way our Heavenly Father has instructed us to think, because thoughts of His goodness, excellence, and His unconditional love for us all cause us move from fear and shame to faith and gratitude. God never intended us to live in fear. He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could live in victory! This is our reality in Christ, and we must change our thoughts and attitudes to equal the wealth of blessings that God has given us.■

Living without Fear

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