This is the truth about fear:

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord… (‭II Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7-8‬ NKJV)

Of what are you afraid? Are you afraid your children will take a wrong turn in life? Are you afraid that you won’t have a job much longer? Are you afraid to lose a loved one? Maybe that you will be single all your life? Or, that no one will ever accept you?

The best gauge for figuring out your fears is to start by asking yourself what consumes your thoughts throughout the day? If your thoughts are fueled by fears, I can promise you that this isn’t something God wants for you. He did not give you a spirit of fear! He gave you a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

I use to love watching lawyer and mystery movies that had thick and twisting plots. In some cases, defendants would be associated with a gang or the mafia, so they would call someone to make a hit on the witness or to shake him up. If they could put fear into the witness, then he would go into hiding, change his story to a lie, or even decide not to testify in the case.

In addition, it was always intriguing to watch the lawyers build their cases and battle it out in court. Whenever a witness would get on the stand, one lawyer would ask questions that were favorable for their side of the case, while the other would try to tear down the character or the testimony of the witness. The intent was to show that the witness could not be trusted!

In the real world, the spirit of fear is trying to use these same tactics on us!

Our enemy is the defendant. He tries to use all his worldly power and connections to shake us up. He intends to make us go into hiding, change our story, or even decide not to testify. In addition, our enemy tries to tear down our character, so no one will listen if we do testify against him.

Well, guess what…we don’t have to fall prey to the devil’s plans. We have the best witness protection plan ever. His name is Jesus! He paid the price, and we need to stop thinking that we are the one on trial.

Remember, we don’t have to be on the defensive. The enemy is the defendant in this case. We should be on the offensive. Our weapons of warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ… (‭II Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭4-5‬ NKJV)

Stand with power, love, and a sound mind. And, a sound mind is an aligned mind!

Challenge: Don’t be on the defensive today. Remind the enemy of who you are in Christ, and that he has already been defeated!