Scripture: Job 3 v 25: "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me."
2 Timothy 1 v 7: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Fear torments us and it starts in the mind, particularly in the imagination. The kind of fear that Job is referring to is one that starts with a small worry in the back of the mind; something like 'is that a lump in my breast?' It isn't a lump of any significance but in your mind it persists. You are conscious of it all the time.
The fear grows and right on schedule so does the blob of fatty tissue. Your imagination sets off on a gallop and before you know it you are making a doctor's appointment and so the fear develops into a life-threatening problem. Satan has won a victory so easily, and with cancer on the rise all over the world, he is onto a good thing.
That which you greatly fear will come upon you! Why does this happen? Because the enemy of our souls, Satan, is a mastermind of suggestion and worry which allows him to torment you before he destroys your life. This torment is self-inflicted but it can be avoided.
Jesus is the antidote of all our fears. If you have faith in Him and trust Him with your life, health, well-being He will keep you in divine health. The stronger your faith grows the more power you have to overcome enemy mindgames. Jesus did not give us a spirit of fear, He gave us a sound mind!
The good news is that fear is a spirit, a demon, that Jesus has given us authority over. We can control a spirit of fear, bind it = paralyze it, and cast it out in Jesus's name. We can overcome the most paralyzing fear, paranoia, terror or anxiety by the power in the Blood of the Lamb. Believe in Him, He is the answer.
Start to recognise that you are on Satan's agenda for total wipeout. Jesus took care of the sin factor - the wages of sin is death. So if you live as close as possible to a holy sin-free life, Satan has no power over you. Oh he will try from time to time to test if you are still out of his range because he at least wants to weaken your faith. A powerful Christian does terrible damage to his plans.
A successful insurance agent thought his best sale was coming up when I told him I do not have any insurance policies. Not one. Jesus had me cancel mine back in '79. Put your faith in Me, He said and its been amazing.
Anyway the agent said things like "What if...?" And listed some horrible, fearful scenarios that could befall me. To the dreaded diseases I answered "By His stripes we are healed!" To being killed in a car wreck - "Jesus holds the keys of hell and death". To being unable to work - "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.". He left in shock and without a sale.
The provision for my children was to bring them up to believe in the same power in the word of God. I knew if I trusted God I must relinquish Medical Aid policies, hospital plans and other such assurances. Jesus has upheld His end of the trust. Faith frightens Satan.
Since 1979 if I have visited a doctor 20 times its a lot. If I have spent R15000 (£1000) on medication, I doubt it. There have been no operations or hospital stays in all that time. No expensive medical tests or any fear of anything. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and He has saved me thousands of rand/pounds/dollars in fees.
So let me ask you this? Do you fear what the devil can do to you? Read Mark 16 v 17 - 18, which applies to baptised believers: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Jesus wants us to walk in His footsteps and have authority over our environment. He says: " Fear not. Trust Me. I am able to do all that is required. I died to stop these things coming upon you. Don't let the devil mess with your head. Rebuke him. He has no right to touch you unless you give him that power. Fear gives it to him. Fear is faith in Satan. Jesus says to whomsoever you submit he is your master."
Yesterday in the Bible study on "Brokenness" (link http://bit.ly/2FArRjP), we realised that there was an origin to all our pain, fear, disease and distress when we were held hostage by a tyrant called Satan and subjected to terrifying ordeals from which God wiped our memories before we were born. It meant all our memories of God, Heaven, Home were also removed.
Ecclesiastes 1 v 10 - 11: "Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after."
However, there are traces left in our subconscious minds that manifest in this life e.g. We have a healthy manic fear about spiders, tiny bugs that can be easily squashed, but we climb on tables screaming for rescue! In our subconscious memories of being a hostage in Satan's realm, we were subjected to torments by enormous spiders that chased us and threatened to kill us and devour us. Today, when we see a little spider our hidden memory reproduces all the terror, fear and panic that image represents.
This example can be used for all our fears and every other torment, disease, situation, problem that faces us. Why do we take drugs, or drink alcohol until we are in a stupor? We are trying to keep the hidden subconscious memories under control, blotting them out. It does not work so we take more and more without success. Go back to the origin and ask Jesus to wipe out the tormenting memories you cannot see nor control.
Jesus says we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. He wants us to accept His perfect solution to our problems and fears. Work it out. Examine what makes us afraid and pray for deliverance. Jesus is our Saviour, trust Him to have the answer.
Prayer: Father God, I thank and praise You for giving us the way out of all the fear and evil we were subjected to before the world was formed. Help us to find the source of our particular pain, fear and torment so we can get free of the things we have tried and failed to overcome it.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
