The Deception of Fear

By Alexandra Copeland

In 2Timothy 1:7, God tells us through the Apostle Paul that he hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and self-control or sound mind. God thought it was very important that we know the difference between what comes from Him and what comes from satan. Sometimes we confuse the two. We attribute things to God that He has no part of, and this causes a lot of confusion not just for us, but for others as well. 1John1:5 tells us that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 1John 4:8 affirms that God is love, and it also tells us that anyone who doesn’t love doesn’t know God. 

Love is not only what God does; it is who He is. When we understand this, it will become very easy for us to see that fear is a spirit that comes from the devil, and wherever it abides, love does not. Fear is described as a very unpleasant emotion that is caused by a belief that someone or something poses a threat or danger. The operative word in this description of fear is ‘belief’. The enemy plants a seed of fear by first getting us to believe that something threatens us or our well-being. Someone or something doesn’t have to actually BE dangerous, but our belief that a person or thing IS dangerous elicits an emotional response from us. Our next step is usually one of acting on this fear.

Our thoughts and beliefs are very impactful when it comes to triggering emotional responses and actions. We can perceive danger based on a prior experience, and this danger may not be an eminent threat; although we perceive it as a threat. Because a program of fear is running in the background, we are constantly responding, subconsciously or consciously, to things we perceive as threatening. We do this with actions and habit patterns that we may not even be fully aware of. This is how fear works. It’s seed is planted with one incident or event, and it can be so deeply rooted that only the love of God can un-root it. 

We can see why mental health professionals will often ask a person about events of their early years, because this is a time when we’re the most vulnerable, and the least able to appropriately defend and protect ourselves from trauma. Many of us became stuck in a cycle of fear because of childhood trauma, and we need to be released from it so we can heal and move forward. Considering this, it’s entirely possible to have a negative or traumatic experience very early in our childhood years, and still have the program of fear operating in our adult lives. And the thing about this is that sometimes, we don’t remember what transpired. We might block it out, but still experience the phobia, anxiety, and/or emotional upheaval as a residual effect. 

We also develop habit patterns based on events of the past. Cruel people and the situations or events they cause upset us. In our younger years, it is helpful to have parents that will comfort us through these, but sometimes parents are unaware or too involved in their own pain to notice the pain of their children. It’s a really difficult thing to try and navigate cruelty when you’ve not learned the coping and emotional skills to deal with or overcome it. Sometimes it can lead to emotional issues and unresolved wounds that fester. Negative habit patterns are spun from this, and they can be very challenging to break. 

Make no mistake, all of us are dealing with something. All of us have baggage and negative stuff we need to overcome. All of this negativity is rooted in fear, and we can’t get that part twisted. Fear is the opposite of faith, and it deceives us into thinking that things will get better if we just leave it alone. In Romans 7:15(NLT), the Apostle Paul was brutally honest about the inter-working of his soul. He said, “I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” Those of us who have struggled with some sort of addiction can really relate to this. You ask yourself why you can’t just stop indulging the defeatist behavior. The truth is that through Jesus Christ, we can stop it, and we can do it by trusting God and allowing Him to help us.  

Fear has lots of cousins, and they show up at the most inopportune time. The deception of fear is so lethal because it masquerades itself in things like harmful addictions, negative thoughts and emotions, and other kinds of self-sabotaging behavior. This is how it affects us internally, but fear doesn’t just reside internally, it manifests itself externally, and this is why it is so insidious. In Proverbs 4:23(NKJV), God warns, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” He’s warning us to take great care about the thoughts we think and the emotions we express, because the internal will manifest itself externally. And sometimes it ain’t pretty. 

Fear is a serious burden to our lives. It weighs us down and consumes our time and energy. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus Christ invites us to lay this burden down by giving it to him. He tells us, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” He is our burden-bearer and our heavy-load lifter. He wants us to know that fear is a spiritual problem, and through him, God has given us a spiritual solution. 

The temptation is to stay in fear because we don’t like change, but we must resist the urge to continue being stuck. Romans 8:37 tells us that through Jesus Christ we are more than conquerors, and our responsibility to God and to ourselves is to move from fear to faith! God has created us to be overcomers; we’re built for it. We’re not alone. God told His people in Isaiah 41:10(NLT), “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Heavenly Father never leaves or forsakes us. He’s given us His Holy Spirit to dwell within. We must begin to pray in faith to be strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that our eyes will be open to see fear for the spirit of torment that it is. Then we can begin to root it out of our lives and let God’s love have more room in our hearts. It is a process that takes time, but we have a God that is patient and is always willing to help us through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. ■ 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.