Combating the Spirit of Fear

It is easy for us to become fearful when we see what is happening in our world today. However, God has made Christians more than conquerors when combating the spirit of fear and other demonic attacks of the Enemy. Moreover, The Word of the Lord says in Psalms 46: 1-2, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear…”

Understanding Fear

In order to maintain our trust in God and continually rely on His promises, we need to recognize and understand fear.

There is a type of fear which is a reverence for God. However, that is not what we are discussing here. Dictionary.com defines fear as “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil or pain.” From this we see that fear can serve as an appropriate and necessary warning in specific situations.

It is possible for fear to become a presiding presence in our lives. However, if we allow this to happen, fear can control our lives. Moreover, fear can taint every thought we have and influence every decision we make. In fact, this type of fear has the power to rob us of our faith and stop our progress.

Fear and its consequences

The spirit of fear can be seen operating in the people of Israel in Numbers, Chapters 13-14. To explain, God is in the process of bringing the Israelites into the Promised Land and told Moses to send out men as spies to search the land of Canaan. After 40 days, the spies returned and reported that they saw giants in Canaan that made them look like “grasshoppers.” These men were overtaken by fear, despite God’s promise that they would possess that land. Furthermore, they did not believe God would bring them to a good end as He had promised. Because of their “evil report,” a movement was started to reject Moses and choose a leader that would take the Israelites back to Egypt. As a result, God became angry with their lack of faith and forced them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

Combating a spirit of fear

The Israelites had no faith in the promise of God. The Bible says without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Fear opposes faith. However, it is possible to keep our faith strong and not allow fear to defeat us in times of extreme hardship if we make a habit of:

Read and meditate on God’s Word.
Trusting in God’s unfailing character and in His promises.
Spend time communicating with God.
Honor the Lord through thanksgiving, worship and praise.

The only way to fight fear is to grow your faith and trust in God. There are many things that will come to test your faith. Nevertheless, you must make a decision to hold on to your faith and trust in God. Ask God to give you the faith to stand up to your circumstances, no matter what they are, and remain faithful to Him. Then, watch and see how God will deliver you from your fears, just as He delivered Israel at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13-14).