Dear Partners and Friends,
Fear makes a person subject to or brings them under the control of bondage. That is why the Lord is against any fear being in our lives. The Bible explains that Jesus Christ delivered those who through fear were subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:15). The believer is instructed to, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).
Taking a stand against fear is spiritual action every believer needs to take. The Bible explains that fear has torment (I John 4:18). I want to show you a spiritual connection that will help you set up barriers in your life against fear.
“In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for you shalt not fear; and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.” – Isaiah 54:14
This verse reveals to us that fear opens the door to oppression. Allowing fear permits the oppression and terror of the adversary to access a person’s life. According to the Holy Spirit, the people of God who are established in righteousness will be far from oppression because we won’t fear! This is our heritage! This is the will of God for us!
What is oppression anyway? Many times I have taught from the definition of this word as the feeling of being heavily burdened mentally or physically by troubles, anxiety or an adverse condition. According to the original language of the Old Testament, oppression means “to be taken advantage of, extortion and having something taken away from you by force or fraud.” This gives us a deeper understanding of what really happens through oppression. The mental or emotional burden is what we can identify. Those are the symptoms we experience when our life is under this attack. But the end result is extortion. Because of the mental burden, we are taken advantage of because our spiritual strength has drained out by trying to deal with the situation from the mental arena.
I experienced this while going through a serious situation in my family. I had scriptures to stand on and promises from God’s Word. The situation kept pulling me back over into my mind. I tried to “figure out” what could be done to change this person’s actions and situation. In reality, I was afraid of what could happen if they continued down the path they were taking. The fear was causing my life to be fair game for the extortion. The enemy tried to forcefully and fraudulently take things from me. Thank the Lord for correcting me! He told me, “Deal with everything from your position in Christ.” I understood what He meant. Don’t try to fix it from my position as Mom. Remember, our text begins by being established in righteousness. I began to operate from my seat of authority in Jesus Christ.
The word “terror” in this verse has an interesting meaning, too. It actually means “a breaking, a ruin or destruction.” This shall not come near us! If we refuse to fear, we block the way for the enemy to break things in our lives. We close the avenue for ruin and destruction to enter our lives.
The Holy Spirit gave me this image to illustrate “it shall not come near thee.” I see the enemy standing on the far border of my life. I have to squint to even see him because he is so far from me.
Around the border of my life, is a force field that the enemy cannot cross. He tries to step on my property and bounces off the protective shield around my life. He cannot come near me because I will not fear!
Make the spiritual decision today, “I will not fear!” Then, begin to develop a resistance to fear. Cast down imaginations. Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Dominate your emotions with God’s Word. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Deal with everything from your position of authority in Christ.
Partners, we can live a fear-free life! My husband’s newest book is full of revelation to help you build this resistance to fear. I encourage you to invest in your fear-free life!