We are controlled by the attitude of the mindset. A mindset is that mental picture or habit which is firmly fixed to predetermine or foreshow ones state, and how that person conveys the meaning of such state. Fear is a serious tool of the enemy to adversely reshape the lives and destinies of the children of God.
It is defined as “an unpleasant emotion or thought that you have when you are frightened or worried by something dangerous, painful or bad that is happening or might happen.” Fear can also be seen as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain or harm.”
Fear is a tool which carves the tomorrows of many children of God. When people rely on it, it will give them a wrong and a crooked finishing shape, which at the end will look ugly, unattractive and unbeneficial. Fear brings about worries which mean faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster and unbelief in a defeat. To worry is wasting today’s time fearing to clutter tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.
Your mindset should be fixed in such a way that there will be no space enough to recognize fear. Fear is a dread. You cannot function perfectly in fear.
Fear can be positive and there is negative fear too.
The positive one is reverential: it prolongs days and is the genesis of wisdom. With this kind of fear, we do not run away from God in terror but we commit to him in love, because there is no fear in love. That is, perfect love casts away fear. This is also known as the fear of the Lord.
But the other type of fear ruins, torments and mesmerizes one’s destiny which is called negative fear. One’s destiny means the force that steers one’s future: that is, God’s intended purpose for your formation, which cannot be influenced by people, because the knowledge of the future does not lie within the scope of man’s natural powers. The inability to move toward this intended purpose can be caused by ‘FEAR’.
The presence of negative fear is as a result of lack of the reverential fear. It operates in a vacuum where the love of God is not made perfect in one’s life (1JOHN 4:8). It is the dominant and the commoner of the two in this present century where almost everybody’s love for the Lord is waxing cold, most especially, the youth. It has destroyed and marred many lives. Marriages are collapsing as a result of this kind; the young are dying from the sting of this ungodly fear; relationships are on the deck of breaking and many businesses have become dregs and recessing because of this mental disposition and fixed attitude of dread.
It is called the fear of failure. Show me someone who fears and I will tell you that person is a failure. There is no failure without fear. Notwithstanding, the opposite is not always the case. Fear has a subtle way of limiting our success. At any moment you cultivate and activate fear, failure is the ultimate result. Fear in the negative is a wicked master when allowed to operate. It stiffens a person’s spirit and makes him dormant, insensitive, awkwardly dull and timid. It leaves you in a state of bondage.
Fear makes one skeptical and indecisive. The above scripture in 1John 4:8 says “…fear has torment…” It is more intriguing to realize that most of the things we are afraid of are all anticipated. They are not tangible with us: they are mirages, illusions and false imaginations.
We are tormented by the mental picture we have of this fear and how we interpret its effects on us. You are fearful of what you have not physically come across. This is a False Evidence Appearing Real to you. These things may not even exist. It is you who make it real. Even if those things are visible or apparent, you need to quickly gather faith to counteract their effects.
Many have died prematurely before their times because of fear of one thing or the order. In this time where the whole world is coiling into its shell for the fear of this COVID-19 pandemic; consider the following four ways of boosting spiritual immune system:
1. Absolute Faith in God: Faith means to have absolute belief or trust in God. Doubt in this case is zero. No one has ever seen God but we believe that He exists. Keep trusting him.
2. Create a Winning Mentality: What you think normally of yourself project and make you who you really are. Whatever rules your thoughts rules your life. Who and where you are today were as a result of the thoughts you constructed and gathered yesterday. Do not fall for fear before you are pushed.
3. Speak Positive Words on your Life: What you think is what you say and what you continually say, you will surely do and what you do reveals who you are. You cannot go beyond your thoughts and words. Likewise, your words cannot yield two different fruits at the same time. The fruit type is determinant on the type of the utterance -James 3:11-12 – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof”. Words are very powerful. They make and unmake our lives. Your utterances guide and direct your lives. They have the potency of injecting into our lives, life or death. As a child of God, your words can become toys in the hands of the devil or tools in the hands of God.
4. Look unto Jesus: What you keep looking at determines who you look like. Place your focus on the Lord Jesus only, for he is the author and finisher of your faith. Do not run away from the Sauls, from the Goliaths and from the sons of Anak and from the lions. Face them with Jesus (Heb.12:1-2).
FACTS OF FEAR
• Fear is a liar, a mirage and an allusion – It does not exist in reality
• Fear intimidates – It causes us to doubt our abilities and capabilities.
• Fear is a killer of faith – it makes one natural and carnal rather than being supernaturally endowed.
• Fear encourages cowardice
• Fear torments
• Fear enslaves its captives
• Fear is a dictator- it compels you to do something against your own will (Esther 8:17b).
• Fear is an intruder – it comes purposely to cause disorder and mayhem in one’s life.
• Fear is a thief – it steals your God given gifts and talents, peace, freedom, joy, etc.
• Fear is the devil’s compass tool – to change your focus on the things of God.
• Fear is a disorganizer- it disorganizes all our future plans.
• Fear opposes the power of God.
• Fear limits – it prevents you from taking risks which will help you in businesses and life.
• Fear fuels mediocrity – it disapproves your ability to be more productive or grow in an area or field of interest. It makes you an average or a level minded person who will not dare to do more.