Fear – the greatest weapon in the hand of Satan! – Pastor Ade Adeoye

Fear– the greatest weapon in the hand of Satan
Text: Isaiah 35: 4

By: Pastor Ade Adeoye

Fear is the opposite of faith. Fear came into existence after Adam violated God’s instructions in the Garden of Eden. “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, where are thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat”- Genesis 3: 8 -12.

Since this unfortunate event, man has been battling with fear at different levels of life. Fear of what to eat and drink, fear of safety and security, fear of sickness and death, fear of the present and the future continue to stand before individual. However the Creator of man (the Almighty God) understands the predicament of man and therefore sent His words “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you”- Isaiah 35: 4.

Fear has both spiritual and physical implication. Psychologically fear creates chains of reaction in the body. It can cause many diseases and sicknesses such as high blood pressure that can result to stroke if not well managed.

Who should fear?

The ungodly are the people who should live in fear according to the bible. “Who gave Jacob for a spoil and Israel to the robbers? Did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart”- Isaiah 42: 24 – 25.

The bible made us to understand that although Israel was a chosen nation of God, notwithstanding they have to obey God’s principles, failing which they will pay direly for it.

“And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury, and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins”- Leviticus 26: 27 – 28.

The LORD furthermore made known to them what they should expect for their ungodly lives “And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth”- Leviticus 26: 36.

Why should we (children of God) not fear?

Although circumstances around us may project fear notwithstanding the promises of God for the godly are enormous. The great God understands the weakness in man and comes up with assurance for those who obey and keep his ordinance.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness”- Isaiah 41: 10.

Man may renege from his promises but God will not do so. He owns the world and all that dwell in it. He knows the future and no event meets Him unaware. He understands the end from the beginning. When you think you are alone in your situations and He has forgotten you, He proves He hasn’t, He knows why He allow you to go through the present challenges.

“When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee”- Isaiah 43: 2.

He allowed Joseph to pass through waters and fires on his journey to greatness in Egypt. He allowed Daniel to be carried captive to the land of Babylon so that he can become Chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Likewise Esther was carried captive to become a queen in Shushan. Fear stands on the journey to greatness in life. However the LORD is present with His people as He knows where He is leading them. No wonder He says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”- Jeremiah 29: 11.

Beloved, Satan uses fear to scare children of God, he magnify challenges to the point that some believers begin to look for shortcut and solutions to their problems. They forget God’s promises and His passed intervention in their lives. They become victims in the hand of false prophets and spiritualists who claim to have immediate solutions to their problem.

Until our faith grow to the standard of the three Hebrews we will embrace fear and loose greater glory “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up”- Daniel 3: 17 – 18. The King was furious and commanded that the fire be increased to create more fear. “And the princes, governors, and captains, and the King’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God”- Daniel 3: 27 – 28.

Beloved, we have a great God who has solution to whatever may want to terrify us therefore let us not allow fear to limit the unlimited God and give way to the devil.