Fear isn't always the enemy

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"Either the Fear Goes Away, or the Opportunity Does"

Fear happens. It shows up in the moments that matter, and it is not always caused by a demon. Sometimes fear is a story, a transcript that needs to be read and finalized instead of ignored or buried. But evil spirits are adept at harnessing fear. They watch for it, because they see it as an opportunity for enslavement and torment.

When a spirit of fear hijacks a presentation of fear, it distorts it until it takes the shape of the impossible or the worst-case scenario. If we accept that distorted scenario as truth, we may become immobilized. Left unchallenged, it can lead to panic attacks and dangerous, impulsive decisions.

What the devil doesn't want you to know

Behind a presentation of fear, God is often presenting an opportunity, an opportunity for growth and increase. That is why the devil is so opportunistic. He will steal your opportunity if he is allowed or permitted.

Here is the part that may surprise you: the evil spirit causing your fear is itself fearful. He uses his own persona of fear to make you feel fear because he is afraid you will do something meaningful for the Kingdom. He is afraid you will do the very thing you fear, so he is trying to prevent you from acting. Not acting will cost more and delay your dreams.

You always have options

Unmanageable fear is the devil's way of trying to destroy an opportunity. He wants you to believe you are out of options, but Satan can never claim that. It is never true. With God we always have options. That is the power of potential: knowing other options are available, especially when you face what looks like an unmovable mountain. God will always make a way. Giants always fall, and God's plans are never thwarted.

The devil uses fear to shrink our vision and steal our hope. The Holy Spirit uses fear to encourage courage. Courage is always linked with fear, and without fear you would never know courage. Courage increases our vision and expands our dreams. It takes a people of courage to expand the Kingdom.

Courage displaces fear

Courage is power, the power to turn fear into an opportunity. We give that power away by thinking we don't have any. We forget who lives inside us, who called us, who anointed us, and who raised us to heavenly places.

Courage doesn't wait for fear to leave, and fear doesn't always have to go before we act. The raw signal of fear can become a source of inspiration that pushes us toward our goal or dream. But the hijacked fear, the distorted worst-case story, cannot stand against courage. Courage displaces it and immobilizes it, the same way it tried to immobilize you. What the enemy meant to freeze you in place is now frozen itself. The distortion loses its grip, the worst-case story loses its voice, and only the opportunity remains.

Either the fear goes away, or the opportunity does. Courage decides which.

I know this personally.

When my husband died, I was left alone with the full responsibility of the ministry, and fear hit me hard. Fear of failure. Fear of lack. I could have come into agreement with what that fear was telling me. But I heard the Lord say, Keep going. I'm going to direct your steps. I will open doors for what I have planned.

I was not asked to feel ready. I was asked to keep walking. And He did exactly what He said. He opened doors: a greater teaching platform, an expanded healing and deliverance ministry, and an ever-expanding reach across multiple platforms and modalities of helping others. We went from Flowing River Church to Flowing River Ministries. We have expanded and increased.

If I had agreed with the fear, I would have lost every one of those doors.

Choose your response

How we respond to the confrontation of fear is crucial. How we respond to what is in front of us is sometimes the only choice we have, but that small choice matters. It carries enormous power. It's called a growth spurt, and it is an opportunity.

What is fear standing in front of in your life right now? Don't let it hijack what God is opening. Keep going.