“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” – 2 Tim. 1:7
According to this verse, the opposite of fear is power! But knowing about that power and experiencing it are two different things! In the prior verse, Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift God put in him. And in the following verse, Paul said “don’t be ashamed of your testimony!” So, Paul sandwiched this Truth, that God has given us power, love and a sound mind in between these two other counseling points. He gave Timothy this instruction because he knew that fear tends to be both a paralyzing force and a silencer. The enemy uses fear to first, paralyze our faith and then silence us from sharing our testimony. He knows how powerful our testimony is because it leads people to Jesus – his worst nightmare!
Not Just Silence, But Replace Fear
There are ways to silence fears temporarily. Dormant fears incubate. We don’t want to just silence fear – we want to REPLACE IT! There are three things this verse says that God has given us; 1) Power, 2) Love and 3) a Sound mind. First, when we understand the power we have been given over all the power of the enemy, we will have no reason to fear. Second, when we realize that God has filled us with His own kind of love, the Godkind of love (Rom. 5:5), it will free us from the torments of fear (I John 4:18). And Third, when we understand that we have a sound mind, the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16), we won’t be afraid to think the way God thinks and walk according to His Word! Our minds were designed to be fruitful and productive with God’s knowledge, wisdom and divine understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of God!
Now, we have Power, Love and a Sound Mind all working together in us! The fears are REPLACED by the truth that makes us free from those fears!
Stirring Up the Gifts
Knowing the gifts we’ve been given and using those gifts consistently, will enable us to replace those fears that the enemy worked so hard to cultivate in us through deception. Once we see through the lies of the enemy and begin to walk in the truth, we’ll begin to stir up those gifts even more. Our testimony will become effective, and we’ll empower others to walk in truth even as God empowered us! That’s POWER! That’s LOVE, and that’s SOUND THINKING working together to replace all fear! If we walk in these things, the enemy’s fears will come right back on him – and he will flee!
With Love,
Pastor Tom