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PROGRAM D-8330
As I conclude my thoughts on being set free from fear, I want to give you a practical suggestion to drive out fear—that fear which has kept you in bondage for far too long. Whether it’s the fear of failure, the fear of being alone, the fear of being rejected or not measuring up—whatever it is—there is deliverance through the power of God’s Spirit within you.
Driving Out Fear
Useless, out-of-control fear is in your mind. It is because you are allowing wrong thoughts to control your mind, and these fearful thoughts are bringing you down.
Could it be that you are thinking untrue thoughts—thoughts of what might happen, what could be? Those are not true. Maybe you allow unlovely thoughts to consume you, remembering things from your past—your own sin, abuse you have suffered, wrongs done to you, shame you’ve experienced. These thoughts, even if true, are certainly not lovely, and they cause you to fear suffering the same things again.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This is our part of the equation. We must be very intentional about grabbing those wrong thoughts and forcing them to be obedient to Christ.
Here’s a suggestion: Take an index card and write on one side the word “STOP” in big letters. Then on the other side write some scriptures which deal with useless fear, such as these:
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? (Psalm 56:3-4)
Carry that card with you. Whenever that fear starts to invade your thoughts, get the card out: Tell yourself to “STOP,” and then drive out your fearful thoughts with the right thought—one of these verses. This will teach you the principle of replacing wrong thoughts with right ones and it will build spiritual muscle to help you drive out fear.