by Gary Maclean

Created on: September 01, 2009   Last Updated: April 20, 2010

Oh what a blessing we have when we think of what our God has given us. Everything good we are and everything good we have, comes from our Lord. His generosity is boundless, his gifts are plentiful, he is gracious beyond compare. His gifts are the best gifts we could ever receive.

When it is written that we "...have not received a spirit of fear" we are being reminded that the fear of death, or of pain, or of turmoil, does not come from our Lord; it is the gift of the pagan Gods. Many people like to blame the bad things in their lives on God. Even though God holds the power to do with those bad things as he wishes, God does not bring those things to us. God loves us and wants only to bring us the good things.

Difficult for many to admit is that our God is not the only powerful entity we must deal with. There is also the dark side, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Satan, the Devil. To ignore his power and his potential is to fool ourselves. We must acknowledge his presence to establish a source of the spirit of fear. It certainly is not God. He says so right here; "...we have not received a spirit of fear."

What we are being told by that first half of this verse is that the fear we feel of death and of pain is not from our God and savior but from God's biggest foe, his most wicked opponent, his strongest adversary. The misery, sadness and depression we all tend to feel at one time or another is not God's way of punishing us; it is Satan's way of having his way with us. He is trying to convince us to blame God for our woes and ills and to turn away from God.

God may turn a blind eye to some of Satan's antics, on occasion. He will do so in response to Satan's challenge to let him persecute his strongest followers to see how fast he can convince us to leave the side of God, but God does not inflict the pain. God gives us good things. God tells us we haven't received a spirit of fear. He reminds us that we have received a spirit of power, and love and of a sound mind. He is reminding us not to fear but to love.

This is all good stuff. This is the stuff that can give us peace and comfort. It is all from our God. He has given us power, love and a sound mind. He knows we can work with it and that is why he has given it to us. What we are being told is; don't get scared and worried about the bad things; don't be fearful. You can overcome any of it. Your spirit is there to defeat it. You have a sound mind and a spirit full of love and power. Trust in God and you have all the strength you need.

The Bible tells us in Philippians 4: 6-7: Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

We needn't worry, God has given us the spirit and he asks only that we go to him with our doubts and fears. We needn't fear if only we could trust in the Lord and have faith that he is with us. In Luke 17:5-6 it is written: "The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' The Lord replied. 'If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.'"

Our God, in his infinite wisdom, has given us the power and the love to do such things. With all of that supporting us, need we fear something as simple as death?

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