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2 TIMOTHY 1:7 “FOR GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT OF POWER AND OF LOVE AND OF A SOUND MIND.” (NKJV, KJV)
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.” (RSV)
“For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” (NASB
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (NIV)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” (NLT)
I’m not sure how easy it might have been to be a protégé of the Apostle Paul. We get a lot of very good advice from Paul in his epistles and a lot of it comes from his advice and counsel to Timothy. By this time, surely, Paul would have gained some stature in the newly established Christian church, having preached so boldly and begun so many new churches throughout the world. He had to be just a little bit intimidating.
Add to this, the fact that Paul personally knew Timothy’s mother AND grandmother (see verse five in this chapter) I have no doubt that when Paul spoke to Timothy, he listened. Paul reminded Timothy to “stir up” the gift in him. While not explicitly detailed, this refers to Timothy's spiritual gift for ministry, enabling him to serve God and the church effectively.
Paul is writing from prison, urging Timothy to be courageous, diligent, and faithful in his ministry despite challenges and potential timidity. Challenges! Right. Any young preacher just starting out in the beginnings of his ministry can certainly be sympathetic if Pastor Tim might have come across as maybe a little bit fearful.
If you don’t know a young pastor personally, haven’t worshipped and ministered under one with a new, fresh face…all enthusiastic to set the world on fire with his evangelistic fervor…just ask your pastor for some stories from his early days as a pastor. Most of them can tell of experiences where “the church can eat you up!”
Growing up in a preacher/pastor’s home, I saw first hand the joyous highs of impacting peoples’ lives with the Word of God right along with some of the sorrows and really “lows” of your people turning on you, leaving you for another church, openly attacking your sermons…all while you hold down a second job so you can feed your family. Cheryl and I went to lots of churches as the Air Force moved us so many times. I always tried to be the best friend I could be to my pastor no matter where the Lord sent us…I could understand what he had to go through.
Now, for poor Timothy, imagine doing this in a Roman world that already was antagonistic toward your faith… maybe in a brand new, just established church, very far from home and friends while your model/example/hero in the faith was just thrown into a Roman prison for doing the same thing you are doing right then! Worrying about the members of the church voting him out was probably not real high up on his list of fears.
Now, from that Roman prison, Paul tells Timothy encouraging words like, “God has not given us a spirit of fear.” Instead, He has promised to give us POWER, LOVE and a SOUND MIND. I know a lot of pastors can tell you that it seems like a lot of unsound thinking can often come from some of those “sound minds.”
According to a Harvard professor and social psychologist Amy Cuddy, “a two-minute power pose can help boost your performance, whether it is to excel in a job interview, nail a presentation or get leverage in critical negotiations.” See the “power pose” (photo on the right above) that came along with this story from an article from Wharton University of Pennsylvania.
One woman, believing in this “power” testified, “I stood in the bathroom like Wonder Woman before I took my MCAT, and it really helped.” MCAT is the Medical College Admissions Test. I don’t think this is quite what Paul was saying to Timothy…and to us.
We know the Lord’s Words that He inspired Paul to write in 2 Timothy are as true to us as they were originally intended for Timothy. Posing as if we are imposing might work for some of the smaller problems in life…it might even momentarily convince us that we do actually possess the ability to sometimes accomplish some great things. But the POWER Paul is suggesting that Timothy has at his disposal comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives…literally from GOD!
How many times…especially here lately…am I finding born again, Bible-believing, Holy Spirit-filled Christians shrinking in fear about what is going to happen tomorrow? Come on brothers and sisters! Memorize 2 Timothy 1:7! When you see FEAR starting to look like it is getting ready to move in on you, say aloud, “GOD has not given me a spirit of fear!”
Fear really should have no place in our Christian lives. Yes, maybe Godly caution is prudent in many circumstances. But cowering fear, especially about all the things that are way beyond our control anyway, should not be. When Paul and Silas were chained in a dark, dank prison cell, shackled together with the rats, they started singing songs of praise! Where is that courage today?
God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear. If you have that spirit, it is coming from someone or somewhere else but God. Instead, He has given us three wonderful things in its place…power, love and sound minds. Take those!
David looked at thousands of his fellow Israelites and saw a fear in every one of them that had been around a long time. David said, “all I see is this uncircumcised Philistine! Gimme my rocks!” Gideon said, “300 men against 30,000 doesn’t seem like pretty good odds, God. But, you are with me and that’s all I need. Let’s break some pitchers.” (Read the story.)
Job said, “Lord, you have taken away my children, all my possessions are gone and I’m sitting here with boils all over my body. But I don’t care…even if you slay me, I will serve you!” Daniel: “Lions? What lions? I think I’ll just keep on praying like I have been praying and see you when you come back for me tomorrow, king!”
I remember looking like the kid in the right photo above. Yes, I will admit that there have been a few occasions when I was scared enough of what was going on around me that I looked like the guy on the left. But most of the time, I remember thinking I could wear a cape and take on whatever the world sent my way! It wasn’t because I was a “super-man” but because I served a super GOD!
A spirit of fear feels like it is creeping in on you or getting ready to take over your little world? Nope! Not going to be! God has not given me a spirit of fear! Bring on your power Lord. You created the whole universe, I think you can take care of this silly threat to my life.
Does it seem like everybody is turning their backs on you and everything you thought you trusted in is falling apart? Nope, not giving into that. God reminds me how much He loves me just like I’m the only person in the world He cares for. I’ll risk loving you with the love the Lord has blessed me with…and not fear what I think could happen.
Nothing around you making sense any more? Has the world seemed to be going crazy? Does it seem absolutely ridiculous that everyone around you has lost their minds? Calm my mind, Lord. Remind me that you have given me a sound mind. Show me how, in the midst of a world that seems to be going insane, you still my mind and remind me that You are there and You will keep me safe. I have nothing to fear.
In 1933, America was attempting to recover from the greatest challenge to its economy in history, The Great Depression. The President at that time, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used a phrase that sought to keep our minds leveled, pushing fear away when we had every reason in the world to let fear take over.
In his first inaugural address to the nation, FDR used this line to urge Americans to reject "unjustified terror" and take direct, confident action, arguing that panic was a greater obstacle to recovery than the nation's actual economic hardships. He told the American people, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He was attempting to assure Americans that the irrationality of fear for fears sake is not to be encouraged but replaced with courage and promise.
I wasn’t alive then so I don’t know how effectively those words accomplished the goal of relieving fear and anxiety about the uncertainty of what laid ahead. I do know that every day, in every one of our lives, our adversary the devil, delights in trying to make us believe that we have all the reasons we need to fear whatever comes around the corner next. Don’t let him do that.
Paul reminded us…as he reminded his young protégé…that if you think it is right to fear, remember GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF FEAR! If you are going to give in to fear, it will have to be a personal decision of your own to believe that something is more powerful than He who created us, died for us and fights for us in spiritual realms. Fear will not come from Him. It is something only we can let in.
Remember that! Turn your back on unreasonable, ridiculous and unreal fears. Instead, replace them with the three promises that He puts in place of fear: POWER like none that has ever come from you. That power is HIS power that He gives us. LOVE replaces fear. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…” When the world seems to have gone totally nuts…to seem to have lost its mind…we have the promise of a SOUND MIND. Isaiah 26:3 reminded us, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Questions to consider: Why is it that seemingly irrational fears can seem like the most rational explanation for what happens in our lives? What is the difference between fear and phobias? Are phobias the same kind of fear that God says we should not have? Why do our minds find it so easy to imagine the worst that things can be and how badly they can affect us? Have you ever experienced a crushing fear about something only to find out that the fear was unreal or so much less than you had thought that you wondered why you even considered it? Have you discovered how to replace fears in your life with God’s power, love and sound mind?
Scriptures to think about: Isaiah 26:4 “Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord is everlasting strength.” John 16:33 “…in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Prov 14:30 “A sound heart is life to the body.” Romans 12:2 “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” 1 Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.”
Song to Remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtJKj3sghKc “God Has Not Given Us a Spirit of Fear” English Live Praise and Worship
 
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