Many of God’s people are bound with fear, some more than others. Since the gift of discerning of spirits works in my life, I have had the experience of looking into eyes and seeing the fear that binds the person. Fear doesn’t come from God. It isn’t the will of God for fear to be in a child of God. Even though we live in a fearful hour, fear is not our heritage, is not meant to be in our minds. Fear hinders more people in more ways than can be imagined. It hinders the working of the Holy Spirit. When fear is in the mind, many blessings are missed. Fear causes people to not give their minds over to the Holy Spirit so they can receive all they need, and they come up lacking. The devil is quick to take advantage of that lack.

Jesus Brought Peace

The Lord Jesus tried to prepare His disciples for His going away. He told them that He was leaving and what He was giving them: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27). Jesus promised to leave His peace. Where was He going to leave it?—In their hearts and souls.

The peace of Jesus is a gift. He has never charged anyone for it down through these two thousand years. If man could bottle peace, what a rush there would be to buy it! The world gives a kind of peace, one completely foreign to the peace that Jesus gives. The world’s peace is phony, weak.

The Holy Spirit without Measure

Let not your heart be troubled—this is a strong statement. The peace that Jesus gives to carry in your soul is offered to you in as many measures as you need. The same measure of peace in the Holy Spirit that was given to Jesus, He offers you. It’s a limitless peace because there is no limit on the Spirit and the benefits that the Spirit contains. With that peace comes all the faith you need to hold on to it, for peace and faith are fruits of the Holy Spirit. For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him (John 3:34). As the Holy Spirit was given to Jesus without measure, He will be given to you without measure when you go to the Upper Room and receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit in all its fullness.

In the beginning of the Church, the Holy Spirit was poured out without measure, but then man began to fill his mind with so many other things that the time came when he had no room for the Holy Spirit; no longer could the Holy Spirit serve him in any great way. The Dark Ages are well named; during that time the light of the Church almost went out. Today, however, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit without measure is once again experienced by true believers. We live in the greatest of all times.

You don’t have to be bound with fear, with darkness. You can live in the light of God’s Word, the light of His love, grace, goodness, mercy. Through the Holy Ghost you can thrive in the light of God’s wonderful touch and leadership.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). Anchor this verse deep within your soul. If you have fear, it didn’t come from God. Fear is something you can find; it will color your thoughts and actions. Jesus came to set the captives free, and anything you have that didn’t come from God is captivity in one form or another, a captivity you can be free from. God does not give fear; He gives power. Faith is power. His love is power. His grace is mighty power to keep you from all sin. What the world calls a sound mind is a mind that leaves out the faith and the Word of God.

Fear God

Does everyone have a spirit of fear? No. I am free from fear; the Lord delivered me from it. I don’t fear man or the devil. I fear God. Do not confuse the fear of God with the fear that comes from the devil. The fear of God is not a negative quality. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). In Proverbs, the fear of the Lord is described as being the fountain of life; it hates evil; it prolongeth days. Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures: Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:3-5).

The fear of God is reverence for Him which leads to total obedience because you recognize His power toward you as well as His love for you. When you reverence God, you count Him holy, sacred in everything. Honor Him as the supreme power, light, knowledge, wisdom. Trust Him because He is supreme. In everything love Him and bow to Him. Sin is left behind. People sin because they don’t reverence God. When you reverence God, you don’t dishonor Him by sinning. Reverencing God leads you in one direction from the channel of obedience to the throne of God. It leads you to holy submission, to giving yourself completely to the Lord, knowing He gave all to you. God so loved the world that He gave Jesus.

Pray for God’s Perfect Love

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love (I John 4:18). John obviously is not talking about the fear of God, but the fear that comes from the devil. The perfect love of God is in your heart if you are born again, but not necessarily in your mind. If fear is in your mind, it is because of the lack of God’s love there. Not everything in your heart and soul is in your mind.

Compare your mind to a cup. The Psalmist wrote, My cup runneth over (Psalm 23:5). He didn’t say his soul runneth over; his cup runneth over, meaning his mind was running over with the goodness of the Lord. When that perfect love of God is in your soul and you let the Holy Spirit bring that love into your mind, then all the fear will go. But if you don’t yield to the Holy Spirit, even though you may be born again you can have fear in the mind cup. What you have in your mind all depends on who you let serve you: self, others, God or the devil. Never pray for God to deliver you from fear. Pray for perfect love that casts out that fear. All you have to do is yield to God’s love.

If fear is in your mind, open the door to the Holy Spirit, and let Him bring love in. When love comes in the door, fear goes out the window. Just be sure the windows are raised enough to give fear a free passage to leave. Closed windows trap in fear, but when the windows are open, you expect love to come in the door and fear to go out the window. Open the door of your mind to the Holy Spirit and let that great love wash out all the fear.

Never has there been one speck of fear in the love of God. If you have a little of God’s love in your mind and allow fear to be in there with it, you will not use the love; fear will dominate. That’s the reason you are defeated. Whatever you use in your mind brings either victory or defeat.

God wants you to be rid of fear, purged from it. Decide that the only fear you will have from now on will be the fear of God.

Take Your Burdens to the Lord

Everything you cannot handle, turn over to the Lord. Do you fear that which is out of your control? Has it become a burden of fear? Jesus said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). Let the Holy Spirit flow the faith, the love of God from your soul into your mind, and take your burdens to the Lord. Hear him saying through His voice of faith and love, Come unto me with that burden! I’ll give you rest from it! Rush to the Lord with all confidence, with full assurance, and unload every burden and leave it there. Then out of the prayer chamber you go, free as a child at play.

Some of you have learned how to unload your burdens on others, your parents, family or friends. Use that technique, not on others but on the Lord. In my home, I learned to unload my burdens on Mama. She was always ready to help, and I had confidence that she would take care of any problem. When I received salvation, the casting off of burdens was a pattern in my life. The burdens I once took to Mama, I now took to Jesus, unloaded them. I found God takes burdens just as freely as Mama had. Why carry burdens you can’t handle when you could give them to Jesus? He is the most capable one to help. There are some burdens God expects you to carry—the burden for lost souls is an example. Be assured that God will never ask you to carry a burden without giving you the power, strength and joy to carry it. For the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Job Blessed the Lord

People who carry a spirit of fear are afraid even when there is nothing to fear. On the other hand, fear can also draw to you that which you fear. Unload that spirit. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me (Job 3:25). You can be afraid of a disease until it will take you over. The devil binds through fear. Refuse to be afraid of any disease. You don’t have to fear anything the devil has to offer. All sickness and disease come directly or indirectly from the devil. You’re under no obligation to sign for what the devil delivers at your front door.

The thing Job feared came upon him. Some people feel that if a certain disease runs in the family, they will have it too. If a certain disease runs in your family, why not be the one to cut it off? The power of God heals all manner of sickness and disease. When you received salvation, sin stopped with you; it had been running in your family for hundreds of years. That disease can stop with you, too. Jesus brought a two-fold atonement, healing for the soul and healing for the body. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Stay with God and He will help you understand His Word.

Job feared that one day he would lose everything; that fear haunted him. He had much wealth. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east (Job 1:2,3). There was no one else like him. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil (Job 1:8)?

Job was afraid that something would happen to his children. Every day he brought them in and presented them before the Lord, sanctified them just in case they had done something wrong. He was so very careful with them. Then he lost them. Every one was killed in one day. After that terrible blow, Job’s health was affected. Boils broke out all over his body. His wife in her grief turned to bitterness and blame rather than to God. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God and die (Job 2:9). Job realized that she talked like a sinner. He said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh (verse 10). Imagine, you are suffering all over with boils, your children are dead and your wife advises you to curse God and die! No love for God or Job was apparent in that statement. Job didn’t listen to her. Job said, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). Job was better off away from his wife.

Calvary Is Our Testing Ground

God put Job on testing ground to prove for all time that no matter how difficult the circumstances become a person can live for God. It is believed that Job lived even before the Law was given. There was no Law for him, no Calvary, no baptism of the Holy Ghost as we have it today, and yet God was very real to him. If you honor God with your children, your possessions, you have His smile upon you. Don’t think He will destroy your children and possessions; Job’s case was an unusual test that he went through. God is not putting us through that kind of test. Our test is whether or not we accept Calvary in our hearts, the blood of Jesus on our souls.

Enoch walked with God, was so close to God that God took him to Heaven alive. Enoch also lived before the Law was given. God is gracious to people who will look to Him and reverence Him.

Fear belongs to people who won’t serve God. Jesus tells us that in the latter days we will see men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth (Luke 21:26). In the Tribulation Period, there will be people who just fall over with fear; it will be too much for their hearts. We are so close to that time, that already people are stricken with heart attacks brought on by fear because of personal experiences and because of what they see going on around them.

Will you walk in fear or will you walk in love? If you walk in the pure love of God, you leave fear behind. Fear, remember, does not mix with the love of God. Don’t let your heart, your mind be troubled or afraid. Jesus is with you. Receiving salvation means that he has put His love and peace into your soul; now let them be in your mind.

Be of Good Cheer

The disciples found themselves in a dangerous situation, and they were afraid. The ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt (Matthew 14:24-31)? When the disciples saw Jesus walking toward them on the stormy sea, they cried out in fear. They had Him in sight; His actions were miraculous—walking on the water, and rough water, at that. But the devil said, That’s not Jesus. That’s a spirit! So many times the Lord has been coming right toward us in our storms of life, and we cry out in fear. The devil frightens us out of faith, out of God’s blessing, out of deliverance. Don’t listen to the ideas of the devil.

Be not afraid: Let these words of Jesus echo and re-echo in the chambers of your innermost being. The Lord is calling to you, “Be of good cheer; be not afraid. It is I.” He is working for you, walking your stormy deep. The Lord doesn’t wait until the storm is over to see if you survived it; He walks with you every step of the way. He knows what you are going through, feels your very heartbeat. Why go into spasms of fear when the Lord is with you all the way? Walk in His love—but you cannot do that when you walk in fear. Did you ever start running in fear and the more noise you made, the more fear came in? You could almost feel something breathing down your neck, but when you came to yourself, nothing was there. Fear is a deceiving enemy.

The Lord told Peter to come; Peter got off the boat and started out. He didn’t just get out of the boat and stand; he wanted to reach Jesus. But when Peter saw the wind swirling the waves, he was afraid. Fear sinks people, and the devil knows it. That’s the reason the devil brings fear every opportunity he has, why he tries to make such a commotion at your house.

As soon as Peter cried out for the Lord to save him, Jesus stretched forth His hand. Jesus was so close to him that He had only to reach out and touch him; all the time Jesus was close enough to touch.

We don’t know how many steps on the water that Peter took. Jesus had been far enough away that the disciples couldn’t tell whether He was real or a spirit. He must have been yards from the boat. From his soul, Peter used faith for a moment and the Spirit flowed faith into his mind until he cried, If it be you, Jesus, bid me come! That was great faith, but when Peter stopped using it, the Lord called it little faith. Peter’s faith shrank. Have you ever had your faith to shrink? Jesus asked Peter why he doubted. Faith was such reality to Jesus that He must have been amazed again and again at the lack of it in people.

We have Jesus right with us. Why look at the storm the devil is stirring up? Why doubt? Why carry the torment of fear, something the Lord doesn’t want you to have, in your mind?

You and the Lord Are a Majority

Fear breeds doubt, depression and gloom. Fear destroys the blessings of God; fear, I say again, is bondage. If you are bound with fear, know that you can be delivered. The anointing of God breaks the bondage of fear. Deep-rooted fear has destroyed people, caused them to commit suicide—that’s a lot of fear, despicable fear. Faith and love have the power to conquer all the enemy’s fear and to give you the right kind of fear, fear that will reverence God. The Lord didn’t give you the spirit of fear, remember, but of love, power and a sound mind. God has deliverance for anything that comes from the devil.

Stop fearing what may happen in the future. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matthew 6:34). You and the Lord are an overcoming majority.

Some are afraid they will have a stroke. They are just sure it will happen to them; they feel warm, dizzy. If you have Jesus, there is no need to be afraid; your destiny is sure. The Lord has given you wonderful promises in His Word. Why let fear rob you of the promises of God? Why let fear take you over? Of course there are times you need to see a doctor—but don’t let it hurt your faith. God placed healing in nature and gave man the knowledge of how to extract that healing and put it into use. Take advantage of the available help you need. If you need to go to a doctor, it’s foolish not to. The doctor can treat your disease or affliction, but God is the healer.

A man one time came to my service and received a great miracle. He went back to the doctor, but the miracle didn’t show up immediately on the X-ray. He became very alarmed. He had walked into the doctor’s office feeling wonderful, and walked out miserable. Like Peter, he had stepped out on the deep in faith, had been healed, but down he went when he heard the results of an X-ray. He went back into the condition he had received a miracle for. Even after he had tried out the miracle and found it to work, he let an X-ray rob him. I talked faith to him, prayed for him again and sent him out. He went back to the doctor, had the same test, but this time the doctors could not find the condition at all.

The Bible is my final X-ray. I give doctors honor when honor is due; I appreciate them and the good work they do. They can help much. Many medical people rely on God to guide their hands and recognize that He truly is the healer.

God Is the Healer

It’s good to have physical checkups, but don’t let anything hurt your faith. For I am the Lord that healeth thee (Exodus 15:26). Allow nothing to wipe the promises of God out of your mind. A good doctor has a compassionate heart, but he is limited in what he can do. It’s God who performs miracles.

If the doctor looks at you and shakes his head sadly, don’t start looking for a tombstone; look to God. Don’t drown in a pool of fear; rejoice in the delivering power of God. I have talked to people who were resigned to die after the doctor gave them an unfavorable report. Naked fear took them over before they thought to consult God about their condition. The Bible says He is the Lord who healeth all thy diseases (Psalm 103:3). He is the Lord who can deliver thee! He is the great I-Am. Jesus said, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Whatever you are going through, know that you have Jesus for it. What people can’t do for you, Jesus can. If Jesus says to get off the boat, you can get off the boat because He said so. However, ask a doctor if you should walk on water, and he would think you are mad. But Peter walked. He got off the boat at Jesus’ command. Like Peter, get off the boat and walk in faith; but unlike Peter, don’t let that faith waver. Walk right into the love and faith of Jesus, into His power. Fear will leave as you keep your eyes on Jesus, and you become free, free, free.

God Heals the Nervous System

It’s wonderful to be free. Some have never been free from all fear. They are on their way to nervous breakdowns. It’s the Lord who heals the nervous system; it’s the devil that wrecks it, bringing tormenting fear and anxiety. People may have a table full of food and still worry they will starve to death. You can have a job and yet live in fear that you will lose it—even when no one has suggested such a thing.

When you are obedient to the Lord, you need not fear man, the devil or anything else. The Lord is the way-maker, and He has set His love, His heart on you. You who are born again are the apple of His eye. He cares for you.

Within Reach of God’s Greatness

Empty up of all fear, and take nothing but faith from now on. “My peace I give unto you,” Jesus said. Freely He gives it; it’s yours. Let not your heart be troubled, but come into the greatness of the Lord by faith.

Fear is the robber; fear destroys many blessings. You can fast, pray and then let fear come in and destroy that which the Lord has said is rightfully yours. You are within reach of God’s greatness that you want so much. Why be afraid to reach out for it? After you walk the path of prayer, fasting and living in the Word of God and are within reach of the answer, why not claim it? Why tune in to another voice, a voice of doubt and fear? Listen to the voice of faith, love, deliverance; heed the Master’s call. The voices of self, people or the devil can drown out the voice of faith. Why become afraid and back away from deliverance? Don’t be guilty of doing that. God taught me how to walk the waters, how to get off the boat and how to stay on top. He taught me how to close my ears to the devil, to the doubt of people, and to listen only to Him. Notice only His touch, and you will go His direction every time. Notice only His touch and respond to it alone, His touch of love.

Man’s love can become weak and fail. Perhaps the person didn’t intend it to fail, but human love does not always stand. God’s love, however, is as strong as God Himself; you can never separate God from His love. Don’t let anything separate you from it. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35,37-39). If you have Jesus in your heart, you have faith and love or else He wouldn’t be there. Let the Holy Ghost flow this love into that mind cup of yours, and all the fear will leave you. Your nervous system can come to normal through the power of God.

Lift up your heart in prayer to the Lord and say: Lord, make me whole, soul, mind and body. Lord if there is anything in my life that would hinder me from being free from all that is unlike you, forgive me now, and take it away. Cleanse my soul with living water; fill my mind cup with love, and there will be no room for fear. You lived in this world, Jesus, and you know what I’m up against. Re-create my nervous system. I step into your divine will to take that good nervous system. I yield to the Holy Spirit, for the living water to flow into my mind, washing everything from my mind that troubles me, to wash it all out. Fill my cup with God’s love now.

Feel the love of God flowing out to you. There isn’t anything like the love of God. Thank Him for that love. Receive all things needed, all things He is serving. He loves you with an unending love. He proved that love when Jesus died for you. Never will He let you down. Go with full assurance that Jesus is yours, you are His and no fear, no power of the devil will be able to destroy you. Put every burden into His loving hands. Carry no fear but the fear of God: reverence Him, honor Him and walk in the path of total obedience. He has all power, and He loves you. 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; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness…Fear not; I will help thee (Isaiah 41:10,13). God’s perfect love casts out all fear. Reach out for that love and let the Lord move for you today with His miracle hand.