For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
Five-year-old Johnny was watching his mum make supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he was afraid to go in alone. "It's dark in there and I'm scared," said Johnny. His mother asked again but he persisted. Finally, she said, "It's okay, Jonny, Jesus will be in there with you." Johnny walked cautiously to the door and slowly opened it. Peeking inside he saw it was very, very dark. He was afraid and started to leave when suddenly an idea came to him. "Jesus,” he called, “please would you hand me that can of tomato soup?"
A cute story but fear is a condition that affects us all. Fear, like faith, is anticipatory. Anticipatory anxiety is a condition where a person experiences increased levels of anxiety by thinking about an event or situation in the future and anticipating the worst outcome. Faith, on the other hand, anticipates the best outcome hoped for. Scripture reminds us that faith is the confidence of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen. The sad reality is fear will always undermine faith unless it is dealt with.
Fear has no confidence on the outcome of a situation. Fear always expects the worst results because fear is based on the presupposition of the flesh. The flesh is factual, that is, it views the facts in the present and presupposes the future outcome in the natural. However, fear cannot be certain of the future. Faith, on the other hand, is not fleshly but spiritual. Faith is based upon truth and truth always supersedes fact. The truth is based on God’s Word and God’s word endures forever. Faith views facts from a futuristic perspective based on the promises of God’s word and always expects the best.
Never fear, Jesus is near! Little Johnny believed Jesus was in that pantry and his belief expelled his fear. Your God is already on the other side of the wall of tomorrow. Jesus is there already meeting your needs. He has not given you a spirit of fear but power, love and sound faith. Deal with that fear today. Don’t allow temporal fear to undermine eternal faith. Know the truth of God’s promises (they are all yes and amen in Jesus) and you will be set free from a spirit of fear.