A couple of summers back, the spirit of fear came to visit my house. The air was charged with a strange anxiety and an unsettling feeling. It was distracting, confusing, and blatantly out of place. In spite of this he made himself at home in the midst of my house, taking up residence as if he belonged.
He sat on the couch, propped up his feet and began to dominate the conversation. He was aggressive, rude, and extremely presumptuous. The dialogue quickly turned dark as he told me all of my worst fears, and the more I unintentionally divulged my insecurities the larger his presence felt in my house. The things he spoke of were vile, wicked, and made me feel powerless at first.
The longer I allowed him to lead the conversation, the angrier and more volatile I became. It’s as if he could sense my triggers and went straight for the jugular. He didn’t attack me personally but he systematically came after my family, loved ones, and all that I hold dear. He told me how my family would die through random acts of senseless violence and how everything I loved would be ripped away from me in the most horrific and violent fashion. He spoke about my ministry & destiny: that I would experience a loss of influence due to the fallout of such horrific events taking place in my life. He began to bring up every weak area of my life thus far and the systematic demise of my life as a result of these hypothetical events.
Suddenly something inside of me clicked…“He doesn’t want to kill you, he wants to control you!” The inner witness of the Holy Spirit charged my being with power that immediately responded to this unwelcome guest in my home! I began to SPEAK to him in a different tone; I was through being passive and “understanding of his feelings”. Initially I had felt obligated to let him share his “perspective” but with this fresh surge of power running through my veins I was thinking much clearer than when He unexpectedly stopped by for a visit.
I wasn’t searching for agreement or justification of what I knew to be right, I just acted as one having authority. Something inside of me grew strangely warm as I began to notice hope was burning inside of me.
I had the surging revelation that love was not just a lens for my eyes and thoughts, but the whole of my emotions as well.
I didn’t realize how sick my heart had felt previously until this fresh burst of life hit me like a grenade. The same power that hit my mind and thoughts was now moving through my emotions and feelings with an ever-increasing current. I no longer felt like a victim of circumstances or helpless by any means. I felt like life was overflowing out of my being that had the power to change everything around me! In an instant it was crystal clear what needed to happen. I stood up and said, “It’s time for you to get out of my house now!” It was as if blinding light entered the room as he stumbled out the door, scrambling to get his wits about him.
As I stood in my living room processing what happened, the Holy Spirit whispered over my shoulder, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” I quickly repented for entertaining such a guest in my home, wondering how I let such a thing happen. The Holy Spirit was gracious towards me; it was as if He said, “Now that you know, go tell them.”
So here I am pleading with you to open your eyes to the reality that there is a spirit called fear desperate for your attention with the intention of controlling every area of your life. He is seductive, emotionally deceptive, and wicked to the core. He will stop at nothing to gain access to the deepest places of your being. Don’t be unintentionally controlled by a spirit that will ruin your life and don’t even let him gain access into your home. Turn off the news if you have too, delete social media accounts if necessary, don’t be a mindless puppet; you are responsible for stewardship of what you see and listen to. Don’t give the devil a foothold in your life!
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” — II Timothy 1:7