By Gabriel Agbo:
“Even when I walk through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings” (Psalm 23:4-5)
One of the most devastating weapons the enemy uses against Christians is the spirit of fear. This weapon is very powerful both in the spiritual as in the physical warfare. Once an enemy succeeds in putting fear in you, then it is only a matter of time before you are defeated. Any student of warfare will easily understand what we are talking about here. Fear is the feeling caused by possibility of danger or evil. That is, when you begin to anticipate that things might not go in your favour or that there is an imminent harm coming your way. When fear comes, there is always that feeling of disorganisation, disorientation, and destabilisation. There are so many things that make people to be afraid: fear of the future, fear of the unknown, fear of the enemy and evil, fear of failure, etc. People are also afraid of their present situations; how will they come out of their unfavourable situations.
So, there are enough reasons to make any man/woman to live in fear all the days of his/her life. But what we want to say here is that God wants us to live above this natural negative instinct. Now, if you study closely why people behave the way they do, or do certain negative things, you will also find out that it is just because of fear. People go into occultism for protection. People live in sin to gain advantage or accumulate resources to secure their future. The quarrels, wars bickering in the society can also be traced to the feeling of insecurity by individuals or groups. Fear, fear, fear everywhere. But God wants us not to be afraid not matter the situation. Yes, this looks difficult but it is attainable. How? Fear is the opposite of faith, and anybody that will walk with God must walk by faith. And what does that mean? What it means is that, though there could be natural signs pointing to harm, danger or evil, you must look beyond them to see the ability, grace, power and sovereignty of God.
This is also why the bible variously told us that it is impossible to please God without faith. That is, when fear is saying that you will die, faith says you will live. When fear is saying that you will not have children, faith is saying that you will have many of them. When fear is saying that you will not survive that surgical operation, faith is saying that you are healed. When fear is saying that you will not amount to anything in this life, faith is saying that you will be a great man/woman. When fear is saying that you will not serve God faithfully, faith is saying that you will even become a pillar in his house. Faith is the opposite of fear. Faith is seeing things the way God sees them. Faith is depending hundred percent on the word of God. Faith is being like God (your father), producing things out of nothing. And look at the way Hebrews 11:1 puts it, “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.” Faith is superior to fear. And in the spiritual ream faith rules, while most of the things we fear do not actually exist.
Rev Gabriel Agbo is of the Assemblies of God and the author of the book Power of Midnight Prayer. Tel: 08037113283. E-mail:gabrielagbo@yahoo.com Website:www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo
