God's Power Versus My Fear

I struggled with fear for years. Fear of my husband, fear of doing the wrong thing, fear of the unknown, etc. So in 2007 I decided to see what the Bible had to say about fear. I researched some of the words in Greek using my Vine's expository dictionary for the verse 2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

I looked up "timidity" which is also translated "fearfulness" (deilia). It is very clear that this spirit is not given to us by God. The word denotes cowardice and timidity and is never used in a good sense. Jesus rebuked the disciples when they were fearful from the storm. “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (Matthew 8:26) He equated fearfulness with small faith – and even no faith in the Mark account. (Mark 4:40) Webster defines timid as lacking in courage, boldness or determination.

Next I looked up "power" (dunamis) which is a force, specifically miraculous power - usually by implying a miracle itself, ability, abundance, meaning, might, mighty (wonderful) work. When I looked up other Scriptures that talk about power, I learned these things about it:

1. It is from God / given to us by God (1 Chronicles 29:11)
2. Fear of the Lord – brings wisdom – gives great power (Psalm 111:10)
3. It comes with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)
4. The gospel is the power of God (Romans 1:16)
5. Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and power – just like us (Acts 10:38)
6. God’s power is made perfect (complete) in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:8)
7. It is the same power that God used to raise Christ from the dead! (Ephesians 1:18-21)
8. It strengthens me (Colossians 1:9-12)
9. It is only for believers (1 Corinthians 1:18)
10. It makes my prayers more effective (James 5:16b)

Finally I looked up “self-control” (sophron) which means of sound mind. (sozo) means to save and (phren) means the mind. So literally it is “to save the mind”. To expand it also means restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions or desires.

So I rewrote the verse using these expanded definitions of the words:

“God did not give me a spirit of fearfulness, cowardice or lack of faith, but of miraculous power, mighty works and abundant ability, love (patience, kindness, selflessness) and a clear mind and ability to say no to my own desires, emotions and impulses.”

Therefore I wrote this call to action for myself:

“Be bold, stretch my faith, believe and trust even when I can’t see the other side. God has given me abilities and can do miraculous things through me if I let Him. He gave me His ability to love others unconditionally and He gave me a stable and healthy mind, able to say no to the flesh. He has thoroughly equipped me for the work He has called me to do. So I need to be bold and not afraid!”

Here are some other verses which have helped me over the years:

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. Proverbs 29:25

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7