“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Tim. 1:7) 

The above passage promises that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear. So where is fear coming from? The short answer is from the devil; he is a thief, robber, and liar, out to attack God’s children and to prevent them from accomplishing God’s will in their lives. But the good news is that God has given you three wonderful things:

Power

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Love

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1)

Self-control

“Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” (Titus 5:12)

Therefore 

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8)

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:13)

“Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Gal. 6:9 NLT)

Susan and I have taken a break from watching all news channels. Why? First, the “news” is not about sharing just the facts; talking heads tell you how to think. They cherry-pick events and then twist them, adding biased commentary. They all do it! And if you watch any of them for long, you will get a distorted, ungodly view of things. This can have a negative impact on your faith.

This is not a new problem

There is a story in the Old Testiment about a man named Asaph who struggled to live a pure and righteous life while being surrounded by people who were wicked yet prospered. As he thought about it, he felt pain and confusion. Here’s how he described it: 

“I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else. They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty. These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others. They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth. And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words.” (Psalms 73:3-14 NLT)

Trouble and doubt

When Asaph compared his life to the prosperity of the wicked, it not only caused him much personal pain, but it also caused him to doubt God and to wonder if he had been wasting his time staying pure.

“What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?” Look at these wicked people enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” (Psalms 73: 11-14 NLT)

Coming to the right conclusion

The story ends well for Asaph once he understood the full truth of their fate.  

“If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people. So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.  In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors. When you arise, O Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning. Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.” (Psalms 73:15-28 NKT) 

Be wise

It’s not wise to compare yourself with others as Asaph did. It will only lead to confusion and discouragement. The new Testiment puts it this way:

“For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” (2 Cor. 10:12 NKJV)

Therefore

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Prov. 3:5-6)

“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4 NKJV)

We don’t need to be afraid or fearful

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27 NKJV)

Perfect love casts out fear

 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:18, NKJV)

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7 NLT)

If you’ve been praying and waiting for God to answer, but nothing seems to be happening, don’t give up but get busy! The passage above says to do three things: ask, seek, and knock, and you will eventually receive what you ask for.

Therefore

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 10:13)

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3, NKJV)

“‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’”

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13:26)

Therefore

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matt. 24:42)

“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28-29, NKJV)

God promises that the dead will be raised

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:15-18, NKJV)

Therefore

“in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1 Cor. 15:52)

“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” (Prov. 11:24 NIV)

God’s law is different

God’s “giving-to-receive” law doesn’t make sense from a human point of view; you’d think that the more you give away, the less you’d have. But God’s law about prospering is different than ours! In fact, it’s the very opposite.

You get the same

God’s law of prosperity is based on His law of “what you plant is what you get." It’s the same as seed planting; you get exactly what you plant every time. If you plant corn, you don’t get peas, carrots, or anything else, for that matter. And God doesn’t want you to be deceived about this fact!

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7 NKJV”

You get more

Another great principle about sowing and reaping is that you always get more than you plant. For instance, when you plant one kernel of corn, a plant will grow, containing many rows of corn. It's the same with giving.

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Cor. 9:8 ESV)

Therefore

“Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” (Prov. 11:25 NIV 

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38 ESV)

“He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.” (Psalms 91:4-6 NKJV)

The Lord hears and delivers

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Psalms 34:17 ESV)

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Prov. 18:10 NKJV)

Therefore 

“And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15 ESV) 

“Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,” (2 Peter 2:9)

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom. 12:2 ESV)

I grew up in a very non-religious environment. My stepfather was a professional gambler, and, as a single parent, he raised my brother David and me according to his lifestyle. I adopted it, including a vocabulary filled with swear words that came naturally to me. In fact, I never even noticed that I was using bad words. But then I received Christ, and that changed my thinking. I still had a swearing habit, but now, each time I said a bad word, I immediately noticed it and worked to weed it out. Over time, my mind was renewed to conform to the will of God and to what was good and acceptable.

“To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:23 ESV)

Therefore

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” (2 Cor. 10:5 ESV)

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” (Phil. 2:5)