Refuse to Live in Fear

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”

—MARK TWAIN

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation—whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

—Psalm 27:1

There is certainly nothing simple about fear. It torments and prevents progress and is a major obstacle Satan uses against people to keep them out of God’s will. There is quite a bit people tend to fear. They are afraid of other people, the past, the future, going without, sacrifice, heights, elevators, water, germs. If you can think of it, someone is afraid of it. We may feel fear but we do not have to give in to it. We can do whatever we need and want to do, even if we have to “do it afraid.” Courage is not the absence of fear, but it is taking action in the presence of fear.

Anytime God leads us to do something, He always supplies everything we need for the task. He gives us the ability, help, finances, courage, wisdom, and everything else that’s required to finish well. We may not feel or see those provisions right away, but as we step out in faith, those things will always be present. Satan uses fear to cause us to shrink back, but God wants us to go all the way through and see our dreams fulfilled.

As I pursued a simple life, God made it obvious to me not to spend a lot of time with people who were extremely fearful. We cannot win our battles when we are surrounded by fear. Gideon was headed to war and God told him the first thing he needed to do was get rid of all the soldiers who were afraid, and that was about two-thirds of them (see Judges 7:3). I am not suggesting we reject people who experience fear, but I am saying if we want to accomplish the will of God, we need people around us who understand the nature of fear and refuse to be ruled by it.

Fear clouds our thinking, torments us emotionally, causes us to act irrationally, and in general complicates everything. It is time to say no to fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (see 2 Timothy 1:7).