Fear. NOT!


Part 2. Fear is a Liar

When I learned to speak Spanish back in high school, it helped that a close friend at the time spoke it fluently. At her house, the TV shows were all in Spanish, music cranking out of the radio was Spanish, and the entire household spoke Spanish all day long.

Immersed in that atmosphere, I caught on quickly, and soon I became almost completely fluent.

Unfortunately, I was also familiar with another language, only I didn’t realize it.

I battled fears of all kinds, and because I didn’t know the Truth, I was completely susceptible.

Interestingly, Scripture tells us that when the devil whispers a lie, he is actually speaking in his native language. His language of origin is not Spanish. Not French. Not English.

The devil speaks Lie.

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

The enemy tries to not only Bully us, but one of his primary goals is to plant fear into our hearts through lies. He wants us to become fluent in his native language. You aren’t safe. God can’t protect you from that. Don’t do that, you’ll look foolish. Something really bad is going to happen to you.

Fear wants to immobilize us. Freak us out. Get our minds off of God.

Now I’m not saying that all fear is a lie. Healthy fears exist and we should respect them. Not stepping too close to the edge of a steep cliff is wise. Staying out of a pond where alligators lurk is smart.

But the only fear that should regularly influence our lives is the fear of God, which is a deep, reverential awe and recognition of His omnipotence. This fear of God displaces all other fears, because perfect love (and God IS love) casts out fear. (See 1 John 4:18)

So if we’ve become entirely too fluent in Lie, what can we do?
  • Ask God to grant discernment. Ask Him to show you when you believe a lie. Then engage in some self-talk, and replace that lie with His truth. Expect to do this often at first.
  • Pursue Jesus. He IS the Truth. Take time to focus on the Lord and worship and pray throughout your day.
  • Become fluent in God’s Word. Read it daily. Get intimately familiar with it. Become a doer and not a hearer only.
Immersed in an atmosphere of love and truth, we will no longer be susceptible to fear’s lies. We will instead become fluent in Truth.

And we will fear not.




8 comments:

Cheryl Barker said...

I needed this powerful reminder, Julie, that lies are Satan's native language. And what a great way to combat him and his lies -- become fluent in the Word of God. Now that's some power!

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

Thanks for sharing your story of fear and these practical solutions.

Fondly,
Glenda

Susan said...

Thank you, Julie. Interesting how similar our posts are today. I'm taking thoughts captive on my site :)
Blessings to you as you begin a new week!

Rachel Beran said...

Great post! Must share this...

Hester's Heart said...

This is awesome Julie! I love your connection here and it's really blessed me this morning.
"The devil speaks Lie."-- so very true and how often to I allow his lies to dwell in my heart -- I must purge them & as you say, learn to speak the Word fluently!

Love this, Hester ;)

Amy Alves said...

I lived most of my life run by fear Julie. It's a freeing experience to know the difference between these two ways of living now! Thanks friend! ~ Blessings out, Amy

Unknown said...

I am loving this series on fear. So encouraging to me. Thanks, Julie!

Walk In Truth said...

Hi Julie,

Such perfect timing for me to read this...Very helpful, encouraging post.

God bless your day,
michele

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