Only rebel ye not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the Land; for they are bread for us; their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear not. Then said I unto you, dread not, neither should you be afraid of them. Numbers14:9. Deuteronomy 1:29.
There are two kinds of fear, namely, the positive (holy and reverence fear) and the negative (evil and destructive) fear. The positive fear is the right fear to exercise and to implore God earnestly that we should have (O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of your inheritance. Isaiah 63:17) and to grow and abide in it (and he answered him, I am: go, tell your lord, behold, Elijah is here. And he said what have I sinned, that thou would deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord thy God lives, there is no nation or kingdom; whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, he is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation that they found thee not. And now thou says, go, tell thy lord, behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. 1 Kings 18: 8-12) and to keep and use it in good or bad season of life in every dealings with the sons of men as the determinant factor of action and response in all conversations and decision to be made (and Joseph said unto them, that is it that I spoke unto you, saying, ye are spies: hereby ye shall be proved: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day, this do, and live; for I fear God. Genesis 42: 15-18) and to walk therein all the days for our lives on earth (also I said, it is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? Nehemiah 5:9) for our earthly and eternal good (but the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. Exodus 1:17-21) for happy is the man that fears (reverence God – sanctify his name in his heart, ways, and lifestyles) always, but he that hardens his heart shall fall into mischief. Proverbs 28:14. Jesus teaches us not to fear the man who is limited to kill the body but incapable and powerless over the soul to determine its final eternal destination, but he forewarns us to fear God who is able to kill the body and destroys the soul in hellfire. To reaffirm the importance and safety of the positive fear of God above man, demons or anything which appears fearful; he asked his disciples, are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear you not, therefore, for ye are of more value than many sparrows. We are saved and delivered by Christ to serve God in righteousness and holiness without any other fear all the days of our lives on earth. The bible commands everyman should fear his father and mother. On this wise, the Lord speaks of honoring and giving due and great respect to our parents, but not allowing any parental authority or requirement from them to overrule and overcome the will or the word of God concerning us.
If God is your fear as the scriptures says to let him be your dread and let him be your fear (for the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, say ye not, a confederacy, to all them to whom these people shall say, a confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Isaiah 8:11-14) nothing else should cause anxiety, not even your finances, the challenges of life ahead of you, your security and the safety of your loved ones because in the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. This was the reason behind the admonition of the wife of Job to her husband for the fear and shame of becoming an object of laughing and ridiculed by friends, families and neighbours in hopelessness of the future to curse God and die (suicidal advice) frightened by the facts of the swift human and material losses and calamitous situations all in a day or two to conclude that the future has nothing good for them, not considering the end of the Lord. Proverbs 14:26. Matthew 10:28-31.
To fear God and not the man is a commandment. 1Peter 2.17. It is also a command not to fear Satan, not to fear any evil or be afraid of whatever life may throw at you. But many people turn deaf ears to the instruction to fear God and are afraid of the creatures, creations and situations above the creator God of heaven and earth (I said surely, you will fear me, you will receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings. Zephaniah 2:7) who alone is capable to deliver them from all fears. Because of the fear of men’s negative opinion and comment against them; some people, to avoid names calling opt-out from the strait gate and narrow way into the broadway and wide gate that leads to destruction, just to be in the majority and be in the trend to flow with the multitudes.
The origin and beginning of evil was caused by the pride of man, by his hardened heart and deceit of Satan and his mental attitude of ‘let us see what will happen and become of us by this action’ not to live and walk in the fear of God (the fear of the Lord tends to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. Proverbs 19:23) and turned away from living according to God’s thoughts and ways which are far greater and incomprehensible to our thoughts and ways (your own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, says the Lord God of hosts. Jeremiah 2;19) as Adam and Eve failed to set the fear of God as the rule to determine the outcome of their interaction with Satan in the Garden, but took the love and fellowship with God for granted in wilful disobedient to die spiritually; but afterward understood the loss of how wise and truly good it is to fear God and to keep his commandments as the whole duty of man on earth by the late excuses and blames they put on each other (let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good, or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) having lost divine essence and spiritual attributes of light and life unto darkness, death and bondage unto the dominion, power and control of Satan, the prince of this world. Adam became terrified when he heard the movement of the presence of God as he lovingly called upon him as usual in every cool of the day’s visitation for fellowship – I heard your voice in the Garden and was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. This is the reward and consequence of living in hypocrisy. Those without the fear of God lives in hypocrisy and sinners in Zion shall live continually under the fear of evil and its grip all day long. Isaiah 33:14.
The outcome of such free and careless lifestyle (you shall be wise, knowing good and evil: you shall be like God: you shall not die. Genesis 3:4-5) to tempt God against his immutable word is extreme ruin of eternal misfortune if this positive, godly and holy fear of the thrice Holy God in Christ Jesus is not in us that we might live and abide to do all things by it. If the Israelis were judged and condemned under the law by their violation of God’s will, ways and laws (let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. Hebrews 4:1-2) how much more shall we be brought unto accountability and fiery judgement, we who are living under better dispensation of grace and power of an endless life, if we neglect the voice of him (God) that speaks from heaven to walk and live contrary to the teachings and lifestyles of the true spirit of grace – See that ye refuse not him that speaks. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaks from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:25-28.
What does it signify to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear and the traits of this virtue? It is to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, to live righteously without rebuke (you are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and without blame we behaved ourselves among you that believe: as ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.1 Thessalonians 2:10-12) soberly and godly in this present evil world among whom we shine as lights by godly conducts of perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Rebellious attitude or spirit to strive and wrestle against the word of God instead of the worshippers to tremble at the scriptures and to receive it with meekness as the truth is in Christ is one of the signs of the lack of holy fear to serve and fully obey God, even as the Israelis made it known by their words and actions in their willingness to go back to Egypt without considering the emotional impact of such confession on God, if they will be esteemed or abhorred by it (now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Hebrews 10:38-39) and the consequences that such action should have on the testimony of his plans to make them a holy nation unto himself among the nations on earth.
The action and feeling of profound respect for God should be the one and only fear to check, cherish and keep intact and active in the heart every moment in the circumcised heart (teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. Psalms 86: 11) lest we take the grace for salvation and divine relationship for granted to receive it in vain and not to wait like David waited (and David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, how shall the ark of the Lord come to me? 2 Samuel 6:4-9) though he loves God, but then lacked that holy reverence of the Lord until he witnessed the calamity and destruction reserved for anyone who will take relationship with God for granted to do what seems good in his own eyes in the church or outside the church, against his brethren or unbelievers, and will not in every way strive to live and serve God accordingly in orderliness to God’s thoughts and ways, and not in any other pattern of lifestyles foreign to the new creature conversation of gospel life in Christ Jesus.
What is the root cause of the continuous besetting sin and wickedness in a man if it’s not the absence of the true grace despised in his failure to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, but chooses to walk and live under false grace? It is by mercy and truth iniquity is purged, and by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. Exodus 20:20. Proverbs 16:6. 1Peter 5:12. Are they not walking and living under a curse and under the sentence of condemnation those that are adamant to turn away from their sins with those who are opinionative, wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight and view to walk and to serve God and live for him in partial obedience by their preference? A son honors his father and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is mine honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? Says the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests that despise my name: because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he fears not before God. Ecclesiastes 8: 11-13. Malachi 1:6.
The fear of the Lord is clean and it endures forever. It is the key to the treasures of God with exceedingly great and precious promises and blessings from him which are without sorrow. If we decide to live and walks daily under the principles of godly positive fear of God, we shall be secured from all evil to laugh at sudden destruction when it comes. There is no need to worry about the evil consequences and destruction coming from the negative fear in all its form, appearances, and manifestations; namely, the power of darkness, fear of what future holds and may unfold; for we shall laugh at calamity and mock at the negative fear as we dwell safely by the Lord and be quiet from fear of evil, or of what man on what he can do to hurt us, or of terrifying dreams and nightmares which can easily be dealt with by constant invoke of the blood of the Lamb to annul them to vanishes away like a smoke, or fear of demons or evil spirits, or the fear of the agents and powers of darkness, or the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14) and whatever threats from the terror of the night and lying vocabulary of the destruction that wastes at noonday or any desolation of the wicked when it comes and for the intimidation and bullying from the hosts of darkness and gates of hell, for the Lord shall be your confidence and shall keep your feet from being taken. Isaiah 33:6.
The negative fear is damnable – all fearful believers shall have their part in the lake of fire: for if the Israelis which were frightened by the sights and news of the giants to rebel against God were denied entrance into the land of Canaan, we should think twice to utter defeating words or acting like victim or looser in God’s presence. Revelation 21:8. A fearful believer will give a thousand excuses and unreasonable reasons why the task at hand is impossible, though he has the God of all possibilities by his side to help and see him through. He will magnify the problem and exaggerate the challenges before him above the God that is above all, who alone is dreadful and king over all fear. God condemned the Israelis for their fear, and they because of it made the breach of his promise. They ignored the fact that the Lord is a man of war who has been fighting all the way from Egypt for their interest; and with them on his eagle’s wing (Exodus 19:4) there is no man or giant that shall be able to stand before them; and there shall be no city wall of opposition (though walled up to heaven as they falsely claimed. Deuteronomy 1:28) which the Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4) following them all this while, who has also brought them across the red sea shall not be able to break down into pieces before them that they might move forward to possess the land of their inheritance. While they lived among the Egyptians, they witnessed the death of the firstborns of the Egyptians but their firstborns were spared by the angel of death through the application of the blood on the lintel of their homes, there is no reason or excuse to be afraid of the giants of the land of their inheritance and to assume that their children shall be taken as prey to the enemies if they should obey God and advance in the journey: but whosoever shall love father, mother, wife, husband, son, daughter or his own life more than the Lord for any reason is not worthy of him. This is the fear of man that brings him into snare (bondage, failure, displacement from the place of blessing and destruction) but whosoever put his trust in the Lord shall be safe. Proverbs 29:25.
The bible says that our life is hidden with Christ in God and we have not received the spirit of fear, but of power, love and of a sound mind, whereby we cry, Abba father (2 Timothy1:7) and there is no reason or excuse to give room to fear of accidental death (the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalms 23:1-4) and to go back from doing the works of God or fulfilling his will if we are walking in the positive fear of God because of his promise to you is not to fear, for he will strengthen you, and be not dismayed, for he is your God. Isaiah 41:10.
The thoughts and concerns of rejection by men and the fear of what man can do, think or say, and what the devil is yet planning (afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. And I said, should such a man as I flee? And who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear. Nehemiah 6:10-14) has paralysed the will and glory of God in the lives of many children of God, intimidated and influenced to do the wrong thing, make wrong move by giving room to the fear of the unknown or the fear of the future to sin and leaves duty undone, and by so doing displeases God: but not with Nehemiah, though was falsely accused with malicious report of self aggrandizement and rebellion against the king that they might frighten and weaken his hand to stop the completion of the construction building of the work to no avail. Note: it is the enemy’s work to scare the hell and scare the crap out of you through unfounded thoughts, terrorist events, scary advice, scary people, scary dreams, false and scary prophecies and scary situations which is only calling on you take your stand in bold spirit and attitude, and be not shaken by any of those things fashioned to torment you. Nehemiah 6:5-9.
The evil spirit of fear is an emissary and a special envoy from Satan to trouble anyone who will entertain it. Whatever you entertain, you permit, and the evil visitor is no different to stay put. Demonic fear is responsible for anxiety and panic attack, slothful spirit (a sluggard says, there is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets. Proverbs 26:13) and self defeating spirit (then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that belongs to you. Matthew 25:24-25) and sleepless nights (when you lie down, you will not be afraid, when you rest, your sleep will be sweet: I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety. Proverbs 3: 24: Psalms 4:8) and depression to give formal recognition and appraisal to the fury of the oppressor as if he were ready to destroy. I, even I, am he that comforts you: who art thou, that thou should be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgets the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hastens that he may be loosed and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. But I am the Lord thy God that divided the sea, whose waves roared: the Lord of hosts is his name. Isaiah 51:12-15.
It is in the power of the demon of fear to work and cause confusion and derailment: and if possible, to have influence and take ultimate control over your reactions, speeches by hasty response of thoughtless and foolish decision and other emotional manifestations (behold, your people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto your enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. Nahum 3:13) the very moment you take away your mind from the power of the greater One who lives in you (God) to neglect that the Lord’s presence is with you as a mighty terrible one, therefore shall your persecution stumble before you and shall not prevail against you. Though multitudes (woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. Isaiah 17:12-14) has come up against you, take your stand in God and he will protect you against them even as he protected and defended Elisha and his servant against the hosts of Syrian to punish and smote them with physical blindness at the request of Elisha – and when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, alas my master! How shall we do? And he answered, fear not, for they that are with us are more than they that are with them. And Elisha prayed to God to open the eyes of his servant; and he saw, and behold the mountains was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 2 King 6:8-17. Psalms 27: 1-3.
The wicked are afraid and flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. The enemy has different tactics of bullying, confusion and intimidation; but if this negative fear is not fully addressed and confronted, it shall open wide the door of your life to every other demons, setting you up to fail and fall in the face of other weapons fashioned against you, if you don’t invoke the victorious power in the blood of Jesus against it and rebuke the fear to keep walking in boldness in the righteousness of Christ. Proverbs 28:1.
Twenty-eight years ago, I was at Cameroun for the testimony of Christ and of the word of God for three and a half years. In one of those years, there were political riots and disturbances at Yaoundé where many innocent souls were killed by the opposition political thugs and protesters. They aimed to paralyze the government activities, even although the government of President Paul Biya has not imposed curfew to restrict movements of the people; yet everybody was sore afraid to go out in the day time because the opposition threatens to kill anyone who will go to work to keep the government running. Those who are afraid to lose their job risked their lives to go their various working places despite mortality news of innocent victims from other provinces like Douala, Bamenda, Bafousam, Limbe and other places!
At Yaoundé, all could felt the presence of armed and fierce looking government soldiers at every nook and cranny of the city and at strategic and important places such as government buildings with armour cars to give sense of safety and to keep peaceful residents and habitats protected as they go about in their normal businesses, ready and well prepared to engage the thugs and political rioters wherever they shall be found or encountered.
Under normal situation, we usually conduct all night prayer and deliverance ministration every Friday’s night at lycee Bilingue (bilingual college) de Nkol Eton at Nlongkak, a neighborhood at the center of Yaoundé from 11 pm to 5 am the following day. It was such a spirit charged meeting which attracts newcomers every night by the way it grew increasingly because of the testimonies of the Lord. The Friday’s night was always a night to remember; but at that time around, the enemy has suddenly shot one of his fiery darts and fear has its gripped firmly on me as I failed to take the shield of faith to quench to neutralize the poison of fear, and he almost has me
The problem at Yaoundé begun on Monday and we have four more days to go before the usual Friday’s night meeting. I sent a note to the church secretary to inform her of the indefinite postponement of our Friday’s deliverance night prayer until the political atmosphere is calm and demanded of her to type and multiply the information to distribute the message to as many as possible that they also might pass the information around for the postponement of our Friday’s night ministrations until further notice. While meditating and ministering before the Lord on Tuesday morning between 2am to 3am, I fell into a trance and found myself inside a big car with the driver and three uniformed policemen, one sitting at the front seat, and the other two on my right and left hand side at the back seat of the car. In the trance, we got to a certain police checkpoint and were halted, but for the influence of the armed and uniformed policemen inside the car, we were let go without any word or control to continue the ride, then I woke up. The Holy-Spirit spoke to re-assure me of the Lord’s presence and back-up with the angels of the Lord that encamps round about them that fear the Lord and delivers them.
After this revelation, I asked the Lord to forgive me of hastiness in the spirit (also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hastens in his feet sin. Proverbs 19:2) to have made impetuous decision to postpone the Friday’s program out of fear and not because I was led by the spirit of God to do so, neither has the government impose curfew to restrict movement. I quickly went out the following day down to the law chamber of our secretary to ask her not to send the message to the brethren. Fortunately, she has been occupied at the court the previous day for the many cases she’s been handling without enough of time to diffuse the message. I confessed to her that I was afraid because of the political situation and happenings in the country as my reason for the message, but the Lord has spoken and shown me not to be afraid. She laughed and expressed her pity for my fear of which the young and the old are looking up to as an example of boldness and braveness.
We held the meeting as usual though many brethren confessed that they came to check whether somebody would be around or not. At 12:30 am during the period of praise and worship, we noticed the presence of soldiers in the College’s compound, about eight in number, walked two by two in a row. They walked around the school compound and checked the cars that were packed by the worshippers without uttering any word to anyone, while two among the armed soldiers approached and stood at the entrance of the worship hall, looking and beholding joyful men and women, praising and elevating God almighty while we sang repeatedly: Cameroun for Jesus, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia: Yaoundé for Jesus, Alleluia, Alleluia, and Alleluia. They stood speechless but examining and scrutinizing the crowd for almost five minutes, afterward beckoned with head gestures among themselves to leave the compound as they left us uninterrupted. Then I remembered the prophetic revelatory word of the Lord, how we were not bothered and stop at the check-point to continue the car ride, then I knew that it was the word of the Lord as it came to pass and I gave him all glory for the favour and victory of his presence.
If the devil succeeds to poison me with the arrow of fear, what would become of the new souls that came the following Friday’s night because of the testimonies of miraculous healing and deliverance of the previous weekend? How could I account for the souls won as the result of those miraculous healing testimonies if the dart of fear has led me to postpone the program?
Fear is the absence of boldness: and if the heart is unsteady before God, he will not prove himself strong in our situation. Fear has the power to bring anyone into bondage, and cause to miss the time of visitation, provoke regrettable action; and worst of all, bring to a preventable — untimely death. You must pray against your fear and ask God to deliver you from them all: and to make you bold and courageous to rest on his promises without any doubt or fear if his word shall come to pass or not. Those who love and fear God shall fear him above whatever the fear factors or challenges are in their lives for knowing that there is absolutely nothing behind his view and permission or beyond his power and solution. He knows all the things you are passing under. He sees all the things you are enduring and coming after you or standing on your way. And whatever it is, he performs the things that are appointed unto you. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. A believer who is walking daily in the fear of God and delights greatly in his commandments shall not look up to just anyone or just to go anywhere in a desperate bid to seek and have solution to whatever problem in his life the same manner king Ahaziah in his sickness did to dismiss and trivialise God’s opinion of his situation but magnified Satan power through his action above the living God who has the power to kill and to make alive (he that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death. Psalms 68:20) power to wound and to heal but sent his servants to enquire from Beelzebub the god of Ekron a prophetic revelation and declaration of the outcome of his sickness but was judiciously sentenced to death from heaven for his stupid action to minimise and understate God’s opinion above Satan’s intents of his situation. 2 Kings 1:1-6. Psalms 34:4. 1 John 4:18.
Fear is the absence of faith. It is the uncompromised boldness that can move God into unprecedented action like depriving the lions of their wishful and appetent appetite to eat flesh when Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. And he went into the fire beforehand to protect Shad rack, Meshach and Abednego from been burnt because they refused to bow down to the strange god of gold and silver to prove himself strong in their situation as the God who ought to be feared in the assembly of the saints and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. King Nebuchadnezzar was moved to decree that no one should downplay the importance and necessity of the fear of the living God and the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way. Psalms 89:7.
Whenever the enemy unleashes his terror, know assuredly that he has few things in mind to achieve, but you must resist as long as it takes to refuse and accept his treats until he flees from you. First, Satan target to breakthrough against your resolution, security, and confidence in the Lord having cognizant that in returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. Second, it is to steal whatever momentum you are having or is prepared for you from the Lord. Third, it is to gain control of your mind – it’s a mind game, so keep focus in sound mind marked by calmed self-control and be unemotional to rest in the Lord (in the Lord put I my trust: how say you to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain? Psalms 11:1) steadfastly and unmovable.
If you’re not sensitive in the spirit to discern the devices of the spirit of terror, you can become dunderhead like Jezebel made Elijah one with her empty threats.
The Lord has just shown an outstanding power of superior performance at Mount Carmel in an indisputable victory through prophet Elijah to bring the false prophets of Baal and the idolatrous house of Israel into forceful acceptance, adoration and acknowledgement that the Lord he is God: then the bible reveals that the hand of the Lord was upon Elijah.1 Kings 18:46.
The word ‘the hand of the Lord on Elijah’ denotes the presence of supernatural power and authority to do and undo, curse or bless, kill or make alive at that moment, but he failed to keep the momentum and to seize on the same power which had previously brought down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice for vindication and victory over the false prophets to locate Jezebel wherever she could be found to consume her; afterward her four hundred and fifty prophets were all slain and what power did she have left anymore? But at the news of the humiliating performance, defeat and deaths of her prophets by the hand of Elijah, Jezebel sent an empty word and vowed in the name of her dead gods which had previously failed to answer her prophets in their petition to a god who cannot hear to kill Elijah. The empty threat and mere talk of the lips from Jezebel caused fearful panic on Elijah and made him stupid enough for the enemy to steal the momentum from him as he took to his heel from the scene of victory, destabilized and turned the joy of celebration over the false prophets and god (Baal) into a regrettable and sorrowful event. The man of God was displaced from the place of his primary assignment by the spirit of fear and implored God to take his life away. The negative fear can make you exaggerate and lie to magnify the enemy threats (they seek my life, how many were they who sought after his life, was it not Jezebel who made the threat in bitterness and anger for the defeat of her god and death of her prophets) capable also to steal away your future glory, even as we found out afterward that Elijah was gloriously rapture to heaven in a spectacular way with chariots of fire preferable over casket for a grave burial – we shall not all die, but we shall be changed.
Negative fear, worries and anxiety can make us suffer needless heartache, high blood pressure, unjust and unnecessary stress as Elijah was fed twice by an angel sent from God to order and guide him back to Mount Horeb which was forty days and nights journey from where he was found, not been at the right place of communion with God. Note: not until we go back to the place of quietness beside the still waters and rest in the Lord, God will not speak to us where the spirit of fear has led or brought us into.
This is the persuasive power of the evil influence of negative fear to make a man to wander away from his place of rest and security into a lonely, isolated, reclusive and vulnerable in a dry and empty land – as a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man that wanders from his place. Proverbs 27:8.
The question of God to his frightened servant when he came down to the Mount was soul searching because it was not of comfort and praise, but of rebuke when he communed with him at the Mount of Horeb to ask what are you doing here Elijah? I Kings 19:13.
Elijah narrated everything that happened at Samaria without forgetting to speak of his zeal for the Lord as if God’s eyes cannot see while he sought for praise and pity; God wasn’t interested to show admiration and pleasure in a fearful servant as he tasked him with new assignments to go back to the wilderness of Damascus. Had he waited to ask for solution and direction against the threat from Jezebel it could have been a different story, but he chose to buy into to her intimidation as if God that is round about his people as the mountain is round about Jerusalem has forsaken and abandon Elijah to himself. 1 Kings 19.