What is FEAR?
Power, love and sound mind. That’s what we’ve been given in our Spirit by God. What we have not been given is a Spirit of fear. We know this because of what Paul tells Timothy in his second letter to him. In this letter, Paul is encouraging Timothy to continue on in his faith, to not be ashamed of the Gospel and to continue sharing the good news.
Timothy may have been experiencing fear as a result of the amount of Christian persecution happening at that time. Paul’s execution was near and Timothy was to continue spreading the gospel and building the church after that. Timothy’s fears were valid, anyone put in that position would probably experience fear to some extent. I know I would be absolutely paralyzed with fear if I was in that situation.
I have never found myself in Timothy's position. I have never had my life threatened or faith persecuted to the same extent that Timothy did. And I still experience fear. I can recount many nights of sleep lost to fear. I know the physical feeling of fear in my whole body, I have quit things and backed out of opportunities because of fear. I have a horrible fear of a certain animal that prevents me from going places and doing certain activities sometimes. ( I’m not telling you the specific animal because I don’t want to say it and I’m not trying to be pranked by any of you <3) I am willing to bet that you have experienced fear in your own life as well. Take a moment to think of the last time you were afraid. What was the cause of your fear?
You and I have never been in a situation quite like Timothy, but we know what fear is. I took it upon myself to do the hard work of a google search - you’re welcome - and find out what fear really is. According to Mayo Clinic fear is “An unpleasant feeling triggered by the perception of danger, real or imagined.” Did you catch that? “Real or IMAGINED” Even just the idea of a dangerous situation is enough to trigger the unpleasant feeling we like to call fear. Have you ever stayed up all night worrying about something that never ended up happening? Me too!
I have sat in many sessions with my therapist during my own healing journey as she explained to me the “feeling loop”. A thought I have triggers a biological response in my body where certain hormones and chemicals are released which leaves me with a tangible feeling in my body. We have spent hours working backwards from these feelings to find the thought culprit, or lie rather that gives me these severe bodiy responses.
For me, what it usually boils down to is fear. The fear of pain, the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of what others think of me, the fear of loss, you name it, I’ve had it.
My therapist has coached me through fighting those lies. Because we share the same faith, the approach we have been able to take together aligns with the truth we find in the Bible.
These thoughts come from a spirit of fear, which Paul tells Timothy, “For God did NOT give us a spirit of fear.” (2 Timothy 1:7, emphasis mine) So where do these fears come from? As believers, we do have an enemy, Satan. He is the ruler of the earth and “roams around like a lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Satan works through influencing our thoughts so that we do not step into the fullness of what God has for us.
Although Satan can influence our thoughts, He does not control our thoughts or mind. But he does lie to us. In the book of John, Jesus is talking to a group of people when he says, “When he [Satan] tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) So when you believe lies about yourself, when you think you aren’t good enough or are unloveable, remember they are LIES. Those thoughts are not from the Lord and do not enable you to live out the life Jesus has made possible for you to have by the power of the cross. Rather, you have been given a sound mind.
So what does it mean to have a sound mind? When we look at this word in its original Greek, we learn that a sound mind sōphronismos is a saved or delivered mind. Any Christian has access to this sound mind given to us by God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Our minds are protected by the one who has delivered us and has also given us a spirit of power and love.
To have a sound mind does not mean we never experience hurt or pain or anxiety or depression. To have a sound mind means to experience those feelings and process them in a way that lines up with the truth we find in the Bible. The power of the Holy Spirit is in us and will guide us into all truth as we rely on Him to help us make decisions in our daily life.
Having a sound mind requires us to spend time in the word so we can recall it to our mind when we are faced with certain situations. Even Jesus resisted Satan after His baptism with the Scriptures. The more you read and understand your Bible, the easier it becomes to make decisions that line up with God’s will. Living out the simple truths of the Bible happens when we have a sound mind.
We are told to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5) This means we have both the ability to control our own thought life and the responsibility to make our thoughts line up with the Bible. We are also told to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2) which happens when we allow the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to transform our Spirit and our minds.
I hope you feel encouraged today to live out your life with the gift of a sound mind that you have been given. Being aware of our thoughts can be challenging and does take practice. I fully believe all things are possible through Jesus Christ and He will give you the grace and the strength you need to take control over your thought life. Remember, you have already been given a sound mind!
xx,
Hailey