OVERCOMING THE VOICE OF THE ENEMY
I was once given the privilege to share Jesus on TBN’s worldwide program, PRAISE THE LORD. I was very excited to get to do this… but I was also fighting the voice of the enemy.
Perhaps you have heard his evil, accusing, discouraging voice also when a big opportunity presents itself. Maybe you can relate to the things I was hearing entering into Tuesday night’s program:
“You do not belong here.”
“You do not have what it takes to do this.”
“Who do you think you are?”
“You are going to fail, big time.”
“You are going to make a fool out of yourself.”
“You need to get sick and bow out gracefully.”
ALL TO MAKE US FEAR
The devil is the father of lies and the author of fear. He wants you and me to miss the great opportunities God puts before us by paralyzing us with fear. Rest assured… fear is of the devil. “God has not given us a spirit of fear” (2 Timothy 1:7), it comes from Satan. He wants us to receive his negative, evil thoughts into our minds and hearts… so that we will believe the lies, jettison God’s truth, and retreat in fear rather than walk in faith.
When Nehemiah was on mission for God, rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, the enemies of God worked feverishly to discourage the builders and get them to fear. “For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done’” (Nehemiah 6:9). With a solid faith in God that overcame any fear, Nehemiah reminded the builders that God is greater than their enemies, and He would see them through to victory. Nehemiah said, “Do not be afraid of them; remember the LORD who is great and awesome, and fight…” (Nehemiah 4:14).
FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY
The key to victory over the fear and lies of the enemy is to apply Nehemiah 4:14 to your daily life. For me, I knew that God had opened up the TBN door to allow me to share with the world. I was not going to let the devil’s lies derail me. As I took a step of faith to sit in that studio chair, the fear melted away… and God gave me peace and power to lift up the name of Jesus. It was an awesome experience that the devil wanted to thwart. Praise God, he did not get the victory!
Have you been letting the devil get the victory in your life? Have you believed his lies over and above God’s truth? Have you allowed fear to keep you from stepping out in faith? The time is now to change that.
Whatever God is leading you to do (and the devil is fighting against it)… feel the fear and do it anyway. Maybe it is changing careers… or maybe it is witnessing to that friend or relative… or maybe it is confronting that person caught in sin… or maybe it is breaking off a wedding engagement that you know is not right… or maybe it is honoring God with your wealth (tithing)… or maybe it is teaching a Bible study… or maybe it is making things right with someone you have wronged. Whatever the situation, you can break the power of paralyzing fear IF you will believe His truth and step out in faith, trusting Jesus all the way!
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
