Binding the Spirit of Fear Worry and Depression
Binding the Spirit of Fear Worry and Depression. The Power of Your Enemy is Your Fear of What He Can Do. Is there a thing you fear about most in your life? I got bad news for you. Binding the Spirit of Fear, Worry, and Depression: Your fear is bringing that consequence closer to your life daily than you think.
While faith is the greatest force behind any victory in life, fear is the greatest force behind any defeat in life.
EXAMPLE 1: THE FALL OF JERICHO
- Rehab, the harlot from Jericho confessed: I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us so that all who live in the country are melting in fear because of you – Joshua 2:8
- God had already sent fear and terror on the whole land of Jericho. They had lost the battle even before it was fought. That is God’s plan in Exodus 23:27:
- “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their back and run.”
- God is simply saying that He would use the weapon of fear to subdue their enemies before their face.
God uses the weapon of fear on our enemies.
- Unfortunately, our enemies also try to use the weapon of fear on us. Whatever battle you confront with fear, you have already lost it.
But with faith, you have already won even before fighting.
- By the way, notice how the people of Jericho contracted this fear that made them lose even before fighting.
- Of course, the fall of Jericho was part of God’s plan for the lives of the Israelites, so that was a good outcome from our perspective.
- But there’s some lesson to learn there as well.
- The enemy is afflicting God’s people with a fear of WHAT THEY HEAR.
- Right from the news on TV, to news about witches, wizards, terrorists, occult men, etc.
We become afraid and so lose our victory even before a fight takes place.
- The truth is that the first cure for fear is to guard what you allow yourself to listen to.
- Unfortunately, this innate fear weakens our victory gear in the face of life.
- “The economy is very bad.”
- “That sickness has killed so, so and so”
- “People don’t do well in that place”
- “That area is very dangerous at night” Etc!
These statements and their likes may seem to be facts as they appear to be,
- But they are not what God is saying about your life.
- They only enslave you to fear and deprive you of your rights in God if you ponder over them.
- For example, never believe you are suffering from an incurable disease.
- That an expert with forty years of experience said so does not make it true.
- He has only done his best and doesn’t know what to do next.
- Discover God’s verdict before you conclude! Even if that expert has the facts, there could be other ways to manage the situation and further your life.
EXAMPLE 2: JOB – FROM RICHES TO RAGS
- Just like you, I’ve read the story of Job so many times and often wondered why God would allow such evil to befall someone who “feared” him and walked righteously.
- I remember assuming from that story that poverty, misery, afflictions, happiness, and wealth were all acts of God and that we have no say other than to accept what God decides.
- He might decide I get a good chunk out of life, while the other fellow gets the leftovers. No questions.
- I don’t know if there are people who still believe this kind of lie these days.
Binding the Spirit of Fear Worry and Depression
The truth is that it’s not all up to God.
- We’ve got a say in the entire process of realizing God’s plans for our lives.
- The scriptures say: “And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
- “There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfill.
- “I will send my fear before thee and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee” -Exodus 23:25-27
- I believe that it was because Job was serving God that he became the richest man in the whole of the eastern part of the world at that time.
- So why then did God allow such evil to suddenly visit him?
- Why did sickness, death, and loss suddenly visit a man for whom it is written, “he feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1-1).
The Bible says that “the path of the just is the as shining light,
- That shines brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).
- This doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges and obstacles.
- But it means that that the challenges and obstacles will not swallow us up.
- In the challenges, we’ll always come out victorious.
- Yes, Job came out victorious.
- But I believe that the fall from riches to rags was an act of the devil.
- The question is why did that attack take place?
- Why did Job have to fall from riches to rags suddenly – when he is recorded to be a just and blameless man and was supposed to wax stronger and stronger?
- There’s certainly a loophole somewhere! We have only preached the other side to encourage people to exercise patience when they are tested, but we fail to state clearly that JOB wasn’t actually supposed to be a victim of the attacks he had from the devil.
I strongly believe it was the loophole that became a doorway for whatever he had to go through.
- Here’s what he said himself:
- What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me – Job 3:25.
- This statement seemed to mean that Job was serving God in fear, not the reverent fear of worship, but a fear that if he doesn’t serve God that he would lose his wealth and suffer.
- He seemed to see God as ONE who was always waiting for someone to make a mistake so He could punish him.
Binding the Spirit of Fear Worry and Depression
He never fully trusted God to preserve him always.
- All his sacrifices and acts of holiness were filled with… “I just have to do this; else, if I make a mistake, sure, God might destroy my wealth” He was always afraid of disaster and failure.
- It was this constant fear that eventually opened the door for the devil to strike.
- I believe the story of Job’s loss has more to teach us about the power of fear and partial belief, in addition to the other things we’ve taught from it.
- I believe that Job’s fears were what opened the door for Satan to strike his wealth.
TO SERVE GOD EFFECTIVELY, WE ARE COMMANDED TO FEAR NOT.
- If you read the bible very well you’ll discover that “FEAR NOT “ is one of the instructions one is required to fulfill to continually enjoy God’s Blessings.
- For example, when God wanted to bless Hagar and Ishmael, her son, she was commanded to FEAR NOT (Gen. 12:17).
- When God wanted to restate His covenant with Abraham to Isaac, He commanded Isaac to FEAR NOT (Gen 26:24).
- What about Joshua, David, Gideon, Jacob, Samuel, Hannah, Mary, Elisabeth, and the apostles?
One of the instructions they were given to fulfill to walk in God’s covenant was FEAR NOT.
- Fear disqualifies us from walking with God. It opens the door for evil spirits to attack us and cause other problems.
- It is the biggest weapon the enemy uses against us.
- In fact, fear is so bad that the Bible puts the “FEARFUL” in the same category as adulterers, whore-mongers, idolaters, and murderers (See Rev. 21:8)
- I perceive that God allowed Job to get some discipline so that, among other
- reasons, fear could be uprooted from his life.
- What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me – Job 3:25.
- That is a very revealing statement.
- One who allowed such fear to dwell in him, I’m still wondering, how he could be said to fully trust God.
WHAT YOU FEAR, YOU ATTRACT FASTER IN YOUR LIFE.
- For example, if you allow the fear of death to dominate your thought, God has nothing to do than to allow you to die quickly.
- The fear of death does not stop death.
- It rather gives power to death to come quicker.
- If you are always afraid that you may lose your job or wealth, sorry, you may lose it sooner than you thought, because that fear will make you unconsciously begin to do things that will now make you lose it.
What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me – Job 3:25.
- Recently, the sister told me, “I’m afraid that when I get to school (she was working toward her university education) whether I’ll hold onto my faith.
- There are lots of corruptions on the campus.” She went on to tell me certain specific things she was afraid of.
- “Well”, I said, “many people have not lost their faith on campus, so why will you?
- I showed her that the “ways of a righteous man (of course, that doesn’t mean a perfect man) are ordered by the LORD” (Psalm 37:23) and that “you’re going out and coming in will be a blessing and not a curse (Psalm 121:8)
- By the time I was through with those few verses, she was all joy.
- Her face lit up and she realized that her negative thoughts and fear were preparing the ground for her spiritual disaster on the campus.
- She needed to realize this fear and rebuke it in Jesus’ name.
As children of God, we should think of success, talk success, and expect success in what we are embarking on, not backsliding.
- Yes, there will be times of tests and temptations, ups and downs, but our pre-composition of expecting the best will help us manifest the right attitude to overcome.
- If an enemy wants to run you down and out he simply does things to make you afraid of him first.
- With that fear now operating in you, that enemy can now carry out his wish successfully.
- So look deeply.
- What are you afraid of?
- It’s time to deal with them.
