The current state of the world is causing many to wonder if a spirit of fear has taken hold. The rising tensions among nations, the possibility of war, economic struggles, and natural disasters affect us all and can feel overwhelming.
As Christians, God gives us the ability to put that fear in its place. But the spirit of fear can still invade our lives. To talk about this issue, Robin Johnson, founder of Million Praying Men, recently joined us on 20Twenty to help make sense of that fear.
The Fear of The Lord
Robin believes the fear of God is about reverence. It’s a healthy fear, because you have to attach who God is to that fear. He’s the God of love. His intrinsic nature is goodness. The fear of the Lord is based on the goodness of God and the level that we respect Him because of the power He has over our lives.
If we have a healthy reverential fear of God, we trust in Him, knowing that He’s got our future in His hands. God is the one who’s in in control. All these other fears should not dominate us. We can submit to a caring, loving God.
Robin says that someone suffering from a spirit of fear has an uncontrollable, irrational fear that dominates and controls them. ‘It may come about by some traumatic event in their lives. Something that was evil, something that was done to them. And that spirit of fear can take up residence and live in that person.’
The Power of Jesus
But we have been given power in the name of Jesus. When Jesus sent out the disciples, He told them to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to heal the lepers and to cast out the demons. And we have authority in the name of Jesus to cast demons out of a person’s life when they are being controlled and manipulated.
‘I think you can take authority over things in your own life and have them broken,’ says Robin. ‘Maybe it comes down to the individual and their relationship with the Lord, or their knowledge of scripture. But a spirit of fear usually needs someone to be praying and to take authority with that person to bind the spirit and cast it out.’
Speaking Hope
Robin believes that we have to be able to speak hope into a person’s life. The worst thing we can do is to simply dismiss fear. Each person is an individual and they respond to circumstances and situations differently. If you have someone in your household facing a situation, and you’re hearing from their words or behavior that they’re fearful, you need to speak hope into their life.
You need to be speaking scriptures and praying for them. ‘Jesus said the truth shall set you free,’ continues Robin. ‘So that’s the environment we need to submit ourselves to.’
Many of us experience fear in these current times around things that are personal, but there is a spiritual level that needs to be dealt with. All these things have a Biblical foundation to them. The idea of deliverance from fear is not only possible, it’s scriptural.
Robin has witnessed firsthand the power of the Word of God. ‘Faith is the antidote to fear’, he says. ‘When the truth of God’s Word is being spoken, transformation happens.’
Listen to Robin’s full interview on 20Twenty below:
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