There is a lot of talk in the world and even in religious circles about fear and there should be, it is real and affects all of our lives. I have seen T-shirts and bumper stickers everywhere that say, “No Fear!” and when I do, I am very skeptical that those people don’t see the true depth or reality of fear. Everyone has a little bit of fear in their lives and some have so much they can’t even cope with everyday life. Fear! DISPOSSESSING FEAR!
As I’ve been meditating on this subject, it was hard to decide which of my blogs I needed to share this on and I chose this one over my ministry blog, DestinyPathOfLife.com because it seems more appropriate here. I have written several previous posts about fear being the opposite of love and not hate like a lot of people believe. I’ve even created an art print on it. Fear is actually the absence of True Love in our lives and I can prove it by the following scripture. A lot of people can quote this scripture, but don’t truly understand how to apply it in their lives. Over the last week we’ve shared it with others and it has been amazing at how it has helped them in an instant.
1 John 4:18, “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.” NIV
According to Strong’s definition of the words drives out, we see that it represents, [to throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense): – arise, cast (out), X dung, lay, lie, pour, put (up), send, strike, throw (down), thrust.]
We get the sense from these descriptions the fierceness of LOVE when it deals with fear. We see that love is not a passive thing, but rather, True Love that comes from the Lord is very powerful. If we just use the word “pour” in an illustration using a glass, we can see it in a better view. Let’s say the glass is empty, but in reality it is full of air. So really, the glass is full of air. We can put more air in the glass if we seal it off add more air pressure. But for the sake of this illustration, let’s use an open top glass and now pour water into it until it is full. What happened to the air? The water dispossessed the air and now there is no place for the air, it has simply vanished, left. If the water was poured into the glass at great pressure, then the dispossessing was more intense, but nevertheless there was a total and complete exchange. I went overboard on this illustration in order to make it vivid in our minds. We really need to get this.
Now, let’s look at the scripture again and add something else to it. In our hearts are many rooms or if you prefer, areas. Some of these rooms we have closed off because of hurts and wounds and the reason we have closed them off is because of fear. What is in these rooms? What happens if someone touches one of those areas? We react out of fear that they are going to hurt us just like the last person did. So, on and on we go until we have to face the room and deal with the issues and sometimes this involves a demonic entity depending on how bad the trauma involved and our choices in the process that developed.
Let’s say the Lord has brought us back around the mountain and placed us in a similar situation and it looks like it is going to happen all over again. We now have two choices, do we lock the door and run away in fear waiting for another time to come when we face it again, or do we open the door to Him and be delivered and healed? The choice is ours, to be healed and live victoriously or to stay broken in this area and remain in defeat.
Now, going back to the glass illustration, if we ask Him, He will bring His love into this room or area and displace the fear, the pain, and the wounds with His Love. It may not happen all at once, and some of this depends on how much we really trust Him. Trust takes time and it must come through a relationship with Him. If someone has hurt us over and over again, it may take some reassurance over time to fully trust again. The amount of fear that is displaced in this area of our heart is in direct proportion to how much of His Love we are willing to let come in. Can we open those hidden places? That means exposure. It means repentance for our part and granting forgiveness to others. How deep are we willing to go? Is our glass going to be half full at the end of the day, or can we possibly go all the way? There is no wrong or right in this equation. Some things simply take time to overcome. Some other areas are easy. The focus however, should be on progress no matter how small the steps that are being taken. In the cases of severe trauma, even a baby step might bring total exhaustion to the person involved. Like a person going through surgery, we need to make sure we get our rest afterwards, even if it means sleeping all day. Emotional surgery must have recovery time just like physical surgery. Don’t rush the recovery process or the wound can be torn open again.
When we are faced with these areas, we can invite His Love to come into this place. Next, we can repent before the Lord for acting in fear and whatever else He shows us. (Whatever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23) We then need to forgive those who hurt us and release them from it. If we can’t forgive because it is too hard, we can choose to forgive them and ask Him to make it real in us, His grace and power. Then, if there is a demonic stronghold there, it is now broken and we can command the entity to leave and invite the Lord’s presence, the Holy Spirit to possess this area of our heart. Luke 11:14-28.
I hope this helps. Janiece and I have ministered this way with people for years and have seen awesome victories. Don’t let fear rule your life, but let Love show you the way to victory, the Love that is so strong, nothing can overpower it. Abundant blessings to you as you continue on the journey He has for you in life. Psalm 139:13-18. Each of our destinies has been written in a book in heaven by our Heavenly Father, but it is up to us to find out what He has in store for us and that comes by developing a relationship with Him. Truly a life of adventure!
Joseph James