"Faith NOT Fear!"

[Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

 

Hebrews 11:1Amplified Bible (AMP):

¹¹ Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses] – (biblegateway.com).

Our problem is NOT a lack of faith because the Word tells us that God has given each of us a measure of faith (Romans 12:3), His faith, and we are to walk by His faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:6-8); we are the just and we should live by faith (Hebrews 10:38)! I am including a teaching God gave me some months ago titled, “Have the Faith of God: When You Pray!” so you can know what is the faith of God – Click here for the PDF version – it is broken down into sections so you can study it at your own pace.

Our problem also is NOT that we don’t have enough faith because Jesus said if we had the faith the size of a mustard seed, we could speak to the mountain and command it to move from here to there, it would and NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO US (Matthew 17:20)!

The problem IS fear! FEAR CANCELS OUT FAITH so we cannot operate in fear and faith at the same time; fear keeps us from putting our faith to work and the Word says faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26)! Faith by itself is NOT enough; the demons believe! But we must put works behind our faith (James 2:14-26 lets us know that and gives great examples how to do it) – we show our faith by our works!

Let’s look at the definition of fear: dictionary.com defines "fear" as "a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid." Synonyms: apprehension, consternation, dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, trepidation, qualm.

Fear is a spirit; God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, power, and a SOUND MIND (2 Timothy 1:7)! Fear is one of the major strongholds or weapons of satan – he takes this and other strongholds and builds principalities, using millions of demons (powers) to do his evil work for him. Each principality is made up of so many demons and all these spirits work together to come against us. A principality is a ruling demon that has several lesser demons answering to it; these are the principalities and powers Ephesians 6:12 is talking about when it says: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (www.biblegateway.com NKJV).  

Fear produces doubt and unbelief and these two produces lack; fear also keeps us focused on our situation (pride) which keeps us from focusing on God’s abilities! See those other spirits in this that has joined to fear (doubt, unbelief, lack, and pride)? Pride is a part of the armor that makes up the principality of fear; it is rooted in pride. Pride causes us to think of ourselves which causes us to fear what will happen next and always have us thinking, “What about me?” “How am I going ________?” Then we begin to doubt, and unbelief takes over, we worry and our whole focus has shifted from God can (our faith in Him) to ourselves – faith is gone out the window!

To help you understand better the principalities of satan so you can know how to fight against them, click here to go through the complete “Biblical Foundations of Freedom Program” – each principality is broken down separately (bitterness, self-bitterness, jealousy and envy, rejection, fear, unbelief and the occult).

Did you know that unbelief is tied to occultism? A Biblical definition of occultism includes any belief or practice that opposes the law of God. It also means any belief or practice that comes between God and us, just as the occult moon comes between the earth and the sun. Occultism thus includes anything that blocks you from, or comes between, you and God. In your mind picture the moon coming between the sun and the earth and then think about anything in your life that comes between you and God. This is the Biblical definition of occultism.

Since fear is the problem, that thing which causes us to doubt God, have unbelief, have lack in our lives because we are not operating in the faith of God, and causes us to focus on our situation, can’t sleep or eat, causes us to worry, to be irritable, and the list goes on and on, we MUST come against this spirit! We come against it with the Name of Jesus and by the power of His Blood! Click here for a teaching on “The Principality of Fear” which will help you understand this spirit better and how to get rid of it and keep it out your life!

One thing to remember, and this will help you not become anxious when you have a need in your life: God’s timing is NOT your timing – God does not operate on a 24 hour clock as we do! Therefore, don’t listen to the old saying, “God might not come when you want Him to but He is always on time!” God comes on His time and NOT ours!

Throughout the Bible we can see how God did things His way and came in His timing and when man tried to do things his way, he suffered the consequences. One instance comes to mind: when King Saul offered a sacrifice, which he should not have done, and lost his kingdom. Samuel told him to wait seven days and he got in a hurry and offered the sacrifice himself and God stripped him of his kingdom (1 Samuel 13:8-14)!

God knows what we need and when we need it; we cannot get ahead of God nor lag behind Him, we MUST stay in sync with Him!

The Antonyms for fear are: courage, security, calm, intrepidity. God is the ONLY One who can give us peace in the midst of the storms that goes on in our lives; He gives us courage, security, calmness, and fearlessness (boldness)! God is in total control of our lives no matter how it may seem to be! This is why we must trust God no matter and to do this we must realize (let it sink into our spirits) that we cannot do ANYTHING without God!

The Bible gives us many antidotes — remedies — to fear. I John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love" (biblegateway.com). If we are in fear we are not made perfect in love. In other words, our fear prevents us from receiving God’s love. In fear we are calling God a liar and telling Him that we do not trust Him. This kind of fear is unbelief; this shows that fear draws other spirits to us and these spirits make up the principality of fear.

The Bottom-line: Fear is our enemy. It's a vital part of satan's kingdom and his desire to control us and to steal our faith. He desires to send a plague of doubt and unbelief, binding us down so he can defeat us. God's grace and mercy are sufficient to meet and defeat every enemy in our life. He already gave us the victory, but we must appropriate it! God's will is that the devil should have no legal right to our lives. We give Satan a legal right through our sin. God's desire is that we turn from the sin of fear, walk the narrow path of repentance and sanctification, and live a victorious life.

I am enclosing a list of common fears which try to overtake us along with a prayer to pray against the spirit of fear (they come from Dr. Art Mathias’ book, “Biblical Foundations of Freedom Destroying Satan’s Lies With God’s...).” I adapted my complete “Biblical Foundations of Freedom” Program from Dr. Mathias’ book; with his permission.

Click here for PDF version

God bless you and keep you,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks