Lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we
are NOT ignorant of his devices 2Cor 2.11
Hiding one’s identity from an enemy is a highly successful tactic in war. By disguising itself in seemingly unrelated physical, emotional, and mental conditions, ‘fear’ finds the tactic especially useful. Its camouflage is often so good, many fail to recognize it as the source of their dysfunctional behavior, thus allowing it to gain the upper hand. It is the reason armies spend much time and effort on reconnaissance gaining ‘military intelligence’ to counter this tactic. This overriding consideration they have to ‘know thy enemy’ applies equally in your war against ‘fear’. I need, then, to identify how it masks its true nature as knowing its true identity and what it can do, will be critical to your success.
AN IDENTIKIT
Now, ‘fear’ is very subjective (experienced differently), so even though I describe it in the widest possible terms, the following ‘identikit’ might not satisfy everyone. However, the
‘footprint’ I detail will help most see ‘fear’ as the reason for many of the issues they have with stress, anger, and even health.
But let’s first start with a definition of fear; a sense of apprehension or dread, caused by an expectation of a threat to one's wellbeing, giving a number of primary outcomes affecting emotional, mental, and physical health. But the most significant is to rob us of courage, the ‘lack of ‘heart’ (faint-heartedness) 13
weakening our resolve and fortitude to meet a threat. Poetically described in Scripture as their ‘ hearts melted and turned to water’ (Josh 7.5). An outcome the Greek word in our text (2Tim 1.7) for ‘fear’ ( deilia’ (Str 1167)) with its meaning to be frightened, fearful, timid, or cowardly confirms. Clearly showing the connection between the primary and secondary effects.
Of course, the other kind is the fear of God; the awe felt about His majesty, power, etc., and the reverential dread of displeasing Him. Though both have similar emotional responses, the latter doesn’t have negative outcomes. One is noble, the other harmful, and the two should never be confused.
MANIFESTATIONS OF FEAR
Fear manifests in a variety of ways and varies in intensity from mild to severe. It can also be acute or chronic, and within this wide spectrum, the outcomes include; STRESS - emotional/mental tension and pressure.
TIMIDITY - the lack of courage, shyness.
COWERING - to hide or cringe in fear.
NERVOUSNESS - a restless, jumpy state of apprehension.
WORRY - uneasy concern; mostly a mild form of prolonged anxiety, which can be vague or specific.
FRETTING - irritated with worry.
ANXIETY - a state of apprehension, most often with no specific focus; usually chronic and subconscious.
TENSION - mental/emotional strain and suspense.
FRIGHT - sudden fear or alarm.
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TREPIDATION - nervous anticipation.
PANIC - extreme, sudden fear, terror.
PHOBIA - a specific strong dread or fear, e.g.
claustrophobia.
DREAD - extreme apprehension.
All these demonstrate how ‘fear’ can be nebulous and, at other times, have a specific focus. Some specific fears are—the fear of rejection, fear of hurt, fear of failure, fear of death, fear of the opposite gender, fear of poverty, and a fear of cancer.
Phobias are also specific and include the fear of spiders (arachnophobia), a fear of closed spaces (claustrophobia), and a fear of open spaces (agoraphobia).
ITS REAL NATURE
But rather than just establish the manifestations it is more important for me to expose the true character of ‘fear’. And by this, I mean its malignant nature which few seem to appreciate (mainly because it saves from danger by activating the ‘flight response’). But to see it only in a favorable light is to misrepresent the threat ‘fear’ poses to your life. It was understanding this fact about its true nature and agenda that gave me the major breakthroughs. Now, what I have just said may seem radical, but please bear with me as it is a deep conviction of mine. Don’t dismiss it out of hand. In fact, lacking this conviction, you will find it hard to put forth the 'war effort'
this fight demands; missing, the aggression to prosecute the war to a successful conclusion—a decided disadvantage.
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Now, most see ‘fear’ merely as a result of chemical responses from emotions, thoughts, and the physical body—it is seen as a ‘mechanical’ reaction to a threat. All fine, but this misses an important component often also at work, the supra-natural one as dark powers seek to make capital of the threat—in concert with the natural responses. It matters not if the threat is a ferocious animal or a bully, or a looming disaster; this extra spiritual component seeks to ‘hijack’ the natural physiological responses. In so doing, it magnifies trauma within the psyche to make the outcome much worse than the threat warrants, possibly even resulting in some form of ‘Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder’
(PTSD). To a large degree, then, these other forces govern the outcome from a threat.
Now, this concept of these additional forces at work may be difficult to swallow, but you ignore it at your peril. Scripture is very clear about powers within the kingdom of darkness with a mission ‘hell-bent’ on the destruction of humanity as the special creation of God. This campaign of theirs born out of jealousy and played out over the millennia is no fairy tale or a conspiracy theory imagined by the paranoid. It is a crusade they prosecute with malicious animosity to take as many humans as possible to hell, a vendetta because an earthly creation supplanted them in the cosmos. Even if largely unrecognized, this war rages on with undying hatred on their part (and is about to peak in the near future). And because they have a weapon with significant clout in ‘fear’, they are committed to making full use of it to control and manipulate—never doubt this. Especially when, to a large extent, ‘fear’ is humanity’s greatest vulnerability, our ‘Achilles 16
Heel’. Failure to recognize this and you underestimate what you are up against.
As stated, these dark forces to a large extent determine the degree of ‘fear’ you battle, and this means the fight you have on your hands is not like the backyard brawl you had with a friend as a child. At stake was a minor outcome; not so with the fight you are now in, it is ‘to the death’ (natural and spiritual) and able to decide even your ultimate destiny. If this assessment seems unwarranted, extreme, or even paranoid, it's not. To miscalculate what you are up against is not only unwise but dangerous. Understanding these forces were behind my ‘fear’ in no small measure contributed to my victory, for importantly, it made me an aggressive warrior. Within this largely unrecognized truth is the motivation to prosecute the war with
‘fear’ and is why I am passionate about what I have just shared.
I trust you will see it as far more than a novel idea.
A KINGDOM OF FEAR
In describing darkness and evil, Scripture also shows how
‘fear’ is a major influence within their kingdom. Their realm is one of ‘fear’, the antithesis to the Kingdom of God with the heavenly virtues of joy, righteousness, and peace (Rom. 14.17).
It controls their evil realm, something every deliverance ministry finds out when dealing with demonic forces. Demons (these evil spiritual forces) are rebellious by nature and this hatred for authority (not just God’s) means their evil kingdom is at war with itself as this rebellion extends to the higher ‘powers’
(See Eph 6.12) ruling them. Consequently, the overseeing spirits govern these lawless, inferior ones only by brute force. In turn, 17
they serve their overlords out of ‘fear’, under the threat of punishment, certainly not out of any sense of allegiance or admiration. The ‘modus operandi’ of the evil empire, then, is this ‘rule by fear’ with compliance by coercion and intimidation.
And it is not just the ‘fear’ of their rulers but their dread of divine judgment. When we struggle with the fear of rejection, judgment or of committing the ‘unforgivable sin’, it is their
‘fear’ we often experience. Put on us by them to spread their misery (Matt 8.29).
CONCLUSION
The bottom line: evil powers take advantage of any threats to impose their ‘fear’. Even if the prey is unsuspecting, vulnerable children, they take every opportunity to frighten, using either a tragic accident, their participation in extreme activities, or even scary sideshow rides, or some other dangerous escapade. They will capitalize on any incident if it can traumatize (e.g. horror movies) and inject into the heart ‘fear’ in general or a specific one. And if no threat presents, they can engineer one, e.g. a ghostly apparition. Special targets of their venom are the young, weak, and sensitive, especially children and women.
In this war against ‘fear’, it is not sufficient, then, to only address natural, non-spiritual issues. While prudent to avoid or lessen the threats (physical or emotional) we are exposed to, any strategy must include dealing with the interference from these dark spiritual powers. Beyond practical measures such as moving to a safer neighborhood, having pepper spray, or financially securing the future, you must employ spiritual weapons. Carnal weapons cannot defeat an enemy with 18
supernatural power. Finally, never underestimate the hatred of these evil spirits and their devious schemes. In their quest to wreck damage upon God’s children, they are malevolent and cruel and any portrayal of them as benign cute ‘fairies’, ‘elves’, or ‘leprechauns’ is a pure lie. And with such an intractable enemy bent on your harm, never think about striking a deal or reaching a peace pact with them.
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