For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and of power and of a sound mind.
~ 2 Timothy 1:7
Do you know that fear can steal your joy, sometimes without you even knowing?
The spirit of fear can often be very subtle. Turning down a job opportunity by saying it is not yet the right time. Refusing to post your blog on social media because you’re waiting to write more posts ( shot fired at me with that one). Not starting that business because you’re waiting for all the things required in order to start. Not starting that ministry that the Lord laid on your heart because there is no time in your schedule to do it. I could very well go on for days with this list. The sum total of all that was stated is – FEAR. Not the emotion ‘fear’, but the spirit of FEAR, and it is the most subtle thief of joy.
I believe there are certain levels of joy that we can tap into. I don’t believe that joy is static. The fullness of joy in our lives is experienced when we walk fully in the purposes set out by God for us to fulfill. But how can we walk out those purposes if we are being held back by fear?
What the enemy will do is make our eyes blind to the fact that we are operating in fear. We make excuses to cover up the spirit of fear, and years go by without us fulfilling the call of God for our lives. An empty void remains, waiting to be filled, left ignored. We try to fill this void with other things that simply cannot take the place of what was meant to truly be there – we are now unfulfilled. It is not possible to experience joy to its fullest when left feeling unfulfilled.
This revelation that fear is the ultimate thief of joy, was a recent whisper in my heart, by the spirit of God. Holy Spirit called me out in the most loving way – “stop hiding behind your fear.”
I’ve been single for a long time. In my late twenties, I started to desire marriage but I really did not put enough effort into dating. I turned thirty recently and I started to look around at my life. My apartment is just so cozy and no one has to be in my space unless I invite them, my time is mine and I can do whatever I want with it, my money is mine and I can do whatever I want with it. I started to think to myself – “ I really love single life”. Though I actually really enjoy my own company, what the Holy Spirit revealed was that behind that long list of things about loving single life, was a stronghold of fear. A stronghold of fear, that in the long term would rob me of all the Lord has for me and ultimately steal my joy. Fear is subtle, it wears many masks.
I want to encourage you guys the same way the Holy Spirit encouraged me. He told me that He wants me to have all that He has for me, and that I should not let fear get in the way.
His promises are true, He desires to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you can ever ask or think. He wants you to grab hold of every promise for every season. He wants you to live a fulfilled life where the will of God will be manifested in your life. He wants you to walk in joy, unhindered by fear.
Beloved, fear may be the ultimate thief of joy, but I declare that it will not steal your joy.
Petal Perry Motivates
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