People often ask the wrong question when they want to know: “What is fear?”, instead of asking: “Who is fear?”. The question is wrong because they do not understand that fear is a spirit: it has hearing, vision, the ability to talk, laugh, ignore, provoke, etc. Perhaps, many psychologists, teachers, people of different characters and professions will deny what I am saying. It is their right. I am sure that fear is a spirit because the Bible says so, and the daily life proves it.
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7 NIV). Fear is a spirit, an individual that does not have a body. It can always accompany a man, while staying invisible. It silently speaks to a man, gives him paralyzing and isolating thoughts that bog him down, as well as thoughts that radically keep him away from progress. All that is done invisibly, but its actions are visible. Everybody has an opportunity to examine his life and see how much the so-called fear has harmed him.
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7 NIV). Think about each of these words separately. The Lord has given us a spirit of love. It can also talk, restrain, guide … The Bible says so: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Cor. 13:4-7 NIV).
Being driven by love, a man builds, develops, brings healing, and spreads peace and happiness. And what does fear do? Fear steals your joy, destroys what has been built, be it a family, business, calling or ministry … Who are these qualities inherent in? Of course, satan, the thief: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10 NIV). Fear is one of the main weapons of the devil.
The Lord has given us a spirit of power. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of power. What does the spirit of power do? It performs miracles, heals people, even the hopeless, and raises them from the dead … And what does fear do? Fear paralyzes and makes them bedridden. It steals hope, captures the sound mind and does not let a man think about the best. It purposefully leads a man to the grave. The spirit of strength and the spirit of fear are two opposite things.
The Lord has given us a spirit of vigilance. And what does it mean to be vigilant? – First of all, it means to have a sound mind. Only a sound mind is able to control situations and take appropriate measures. Some people say: “A man has to have a sense of fear to some extent, in order to be cautions. A man, who is deprived of fear, can find himself in various dangerous situations, and even die”. The same holds true if we say: “A small dose of poison will not kill a man”. Fear and poison are equal. Poison kills a man physically, while fear kills actions that lead a man to progress, paralyzes his mind, and deprives him of the opportunity to dream and pursue his dreams. It can be said, that it slowly kills a man. It’s not the fear that holds a man back from danger but the sound and vigilant mind.
Fear is also faith. A man tries to start a new life, start something new, while fear reminds him of his past failures: “By no means, do you remember? …” or gives a number of episodes of the neighbor’s unsuccessful life. Everybody should be attentive to what he says, what expressions come out of his mouth, what thoughts he has – constructive, ensuring progress or dull thoughts which make him live a monotonous life. A man should be vigilant as to who he listens to, what he listens to, what programs and films he watches, and what kind of people he communicates with.
If only people could imagine what successes and pleasures they deprive themselves of because of fear …
Faith which is inspired by satan and is called fear, and the true faith, i.e. trusting in God, cannot be together in the same place. A man has to choose and make a decision with whom he wants to live on this earth: with fear which fills him with horror for tomorrow, holds him back from starting something new, from positive changes, makes them shrink into a corner, live a monotonous and boring life, or a courageous and brave life, when he challenges fear every day and is taught to trust in God at all times, in other words, to walk on water just because Jesus said: “Come”.
The Holy Spirit has a delivering power. A man should just make a decision: “I am not afraid of anything, because the Lord is the Creator of the universe and the One, Who holds the eternity in the palms of his hands and says: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” (Isaiah 43:1-3 NIV).
A man, who was created in the image and likeness of God and has accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of his life, has to trust in God. Before doing something that will bring development into his life, he has to go into his secret room, talk to the Lord, receive a Word from the Holy Spirit, and then bring that idea to life bravely. When a man does not receive a Word from God he has to stop and seek the Lord’s face to know what the Lord wants from him. In this case, the cause of the stop is not fear but the knowledge of the Lord’s will.
If the Lord has given you a Word, then you have to start bravely, and if difficulties arise, He is faithful. In Mark 4:35-41 we read: “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown? He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (NIV).
If Jesus says: “Let us go over to the other side”, go over, do not fear! In case of obstacles, rebuke them in the name of Jesus! Use your authority of the believer.
I would like to sum up with a testimony from my life. In January 2015, I was in Brussels. In general, when I undertake something or travel to some country, I always ask the Lord where to go and for how long. This time, I also received a word from the Lord to spend my holiday in Belgium and return on January 17.
So, I purchased the return tickets in advance. On January 12, there was a chaotic situation at the airport in Moscow. Because of heavy snowfalls and storms that had begun in Moscow, many flights were cancelled. Russian TV channels and “euronews” were constantly urging the passengers who were going to fly by “Russian Airlines”, to return the tickets, delay their flights so that no new, uncontrollable crowds would gather at the airport of Moscow. They were warning that heavy snowfalls and storms would not cease during the coming week.
They were constantly showing the chaotic situation of many people at the airport, the storm outside and the damages caused by it. Those who were watching TV with me, learning that my return ticket was by “Russian Airlines” and was for January 17, suggested me either returning it urgently and waiting, or returning it and buying a new one by “Austrian Airlines”. I came out of that room and retired to mine.
I began pondering. I reminded myself that the fact that I was in Belgium and had bought my return ticket is according to the will of God. Obviously, the storm that had started and was continuing in Moscow, as well as the chaotic situation at the airport were out of the will of God. My financial situation and visa allowed me to stay in Belgium for another ten days or more, but before I flew to Belgium, the Lord had told me to return on January 17.
I only had to command the ruler of this world, the devil, to stop all the chaos and storms in the name of Jesus Christ. I told him: “Satan, although you are the ruler of this world, I command you in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ to stop the storm and the chaotic situation in Moscow right today!”.
I perfectly remembered the above-mentioned story written in Mark, that’s why I was sure that the devil had to obey the word which came out of my mouth and which was commanded to him by the power of the name of Jesus Christ. Then I prayed for the airport employees so that they could organize the flights in a structured manner. The next day, I completely forgot about the storm.
I was talking with my sister, who lives in Moscow, via Skype. I noticed that she was dressed very lightly, and I asked her about the weather. The scandalous storm had completely been erased from my memory. My sister started telling me admiringly how the storm that had caused a lot of damage as well as the continuous snow had stopped overnight, and a large accumulation of snow on the streets was continuing to melt. I immediately remembered my prayer the previous day, when I prayed by the authority of the name of Jesus Christ.
I told my sister about it but she added that it was being reported on TV that the uncontrollable storm and snow had stopped very unexpectedly, but new storms and snowfalls were expected at any moment. I calmed my sister and told her that it was impossible, because our Lord is faithful and He brings everything to a triumphant conclusion.
On January 17, I returned to Yerevan safe and sound. It was already dawn when I came home. I put the suitcases in the corridor and began to pray: “Lord, I was sure that You had defeated the devil and you have given me victory, obtained by the power of Your cross, for which I am grateful. As for the Moscow snow, You decide, because I don’t know whether someone like me has called on You to stop the snowfall or not”.