Overcoming a Spirit of Fear

Overcoming a Spirit of Fear Followers of Jesus have no reason to possess a spirit of fear. What exactly does “spirit of fear” mean (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV)?  Several suggestions have been given by scholars. Some suggest the word “spirit,” pneuma in the Greek text, can be translated “attitude.”  That is, God never gives his people an attitude of fear.  It cannot come from him.  We have a “sound mind,” a mind whose thoughts are focused on faith in Jesus, not fear. Therefore, fear should never consume the believer’s thought life.  Rather, the Christian’s mind must take every thought captive and make it obedient to the truth of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). The Greek word translated “fear” in 2 Timothy 1:7 can also be translated “cowardice” and “timidity.”  It can refer to someone who flees from a battle.   Conversely, when one is walking close to God, boldness consumes the heart.  “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).  God promised the Israelites that when he was present, one of them would cause 1,000 to flee (Deuteronomy 32:30).  God’s power in us claims victory over fear. God wants his children to walk in bold faith.  In power.  In confidence.  His presence drives out all fear, cowardice, and timidity and replaces it with love, power, and a sound mind. With Jesus’s presence in us and our minds set on him, victory is ours. And we overcome a spirit of fear.