Daily Devotional
How Fear Can Rob Us
This week’s topic: The Fear Of The Lord
Christians are protected from demonic powers, which, according to the Bible, walk about like roaring lions seeking whom they can devour (1 Peter 5:8), particularly the spirit of fear. That is why it is so very important for us to use our faith in the Word of God to maintain our freedom. This is where fighting the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) comes in.
The devil–the enemy of all mankind–is always trying to steal the Believer’s faith, or at least render it ineffective. But Christians have a choice as to whether or not to accept his presence in their lives. That is what makes the good fight of faith good. If you are a Christian, you do not have to accept any of the things the devil and his demons may throw your way because you can defeat them with God’s Word.
We have a classic example in the Bible of how fear works against faith in Matthew 14:22-31:
22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Peter doubted because he began to fear. When fear came, faith left. That was why Jesus said, “O you of little faith.” If Peter had had great faith, he would have walked back with Jesus to the boat without thinking about it.
When Jesus told Peter, “Come,” that implied two things. It implied that Peter had God’s permission to defy the laws of nature, and that he had the ability to do so. Not only that, but it says in the same verse, he [Peter] walked on the water to go to Jesus. Peter was walking on the water! He was actually doing it. But he made the mistake of taking his eyes off of Jesus, and looking at the wind and the waves. Once he did that, he allowed fear to come in, which robbed Peter of completing a wonderful miracle.
Every promise God makes in the Bible belongs to the Christian. Thank God for His grace and determine in your heart to live as a child of God. As you learn to trust what He says in the Bible, you can expect to grow spiritually and to learn what God’s best is for your life.
Even when the devil tries to assault your mind with fear, remember that as a Christian you have not been given a spirit of fear, but one of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). You have the Greater One within you (1 John 4:4) and you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). Keep standing in faith on the promises God makes in the Bible. Remember that He made those promises to you, and that He always honors His Word. You cannot help but win, no matter what may arise.
This devotional is an excerpt from Dr. Price’s mini-book, “The Truth About…Fear.”
Scripture Of The Day: “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'” – Matthew 14:31 (NKJV)
Dr. Frederick K.C. Price is the founder and pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center West in Los Angeles and CCC East in Manhattan. To obtain more information about his ministry, please call (800) 927-3436 or visit http://www.faithdome.org.
