I once heard a story of a boy who went to visit a farm with his father. When they got there, a small dog came out and barked furiously at them. Out of fear the boy jumped up on top of their car while the dog ran around it barking up at him. His father laughed at him, but he stayed up on the car, being terrified of the dog. Now, what kept him on the car? Was it the dog? No, the dog couldn’t hurt him, for it was too small. It was his fear that kept him on top of the car. Eventually he got over his fear, came down, and gave that dog a look that sent the dog running away, never to be seen again during that visit.
In just that way, Satan uses fear to try to control believers. The greatest of these fears is the fear of death, which Satan has used to hold many people in bondage. The Lord Jesus became a man and died so that He “might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15). Now that He has delivered us, we are not to fear, “for God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). We don’t fear Satan and we don’t fear man either, for the Lord has promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Heb. 13:5-6).
No, God has not given us the spirit of fear, but He does call us to a life of faith and trust in Him. Job endured the severest trials from God, yet he had an unshakeable trust in Him, saying, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). But it is God’s way to save and preserve us, and so the prophet said, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid” (Isa. 12:2). God is our Father, and He loves and cares for us.
T. Ruga