Fear Tactics

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)

Fear is very real in this world. People are afraid of a number of things. In fact, there are thousands of phobias (or fears) which millions of people have. Some of them are kinda weird (Koumpounophobia is the fear of buttons), while others are life-altering (Sociophobia is the fear of people) and drastically affect every-day life.

Of course, then we, as a society, celebrate those fears by creating entertainment content to prey on the fear within each one of us. The horror genre is huge in Hollywood. Additionally, there are TV shows, webisodes, podcasts, and tons of other media outlets that help us to experience fear. Scaring people is big business. It’s worth billions of dollars.

Our enemy, Satan, embraces this concept wholeheartedly. He loves to prey on our fears – especially when it comes to our eternal salvation. He has convinced millions upon millions of people to abandon their pursuit of God by painting Him as someone who loves to judge and destroy people, rather than as someone who loves to forgive and save.

Even within the Christian community, Satan has created fear. He gets us to believe that we are not good enough for God to want us. Or, that we are too damaged for God to accept us. So, we become afraid of what God thinks of us. It can have eternal consequences.

This is why I love the Bible so much. It tells us about the real God. And, guess what? He is desperately seeking and loving people. He isn’t a God of fear. In fact, He is the God who conquered all of our fears. He is victorious! Check out what He has to tell us in our verse today, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” In other words, our awesome, amazing, loving, all-powerful God isn’t about fear tactics. Instead, He is out to conquer all of our fears and give us that amazing assurance of salvation.

So, today, and every day, when Satan tries to use his fear tactics on you, remind him that you have no reason to be afraid. Satan is defeated. Jesus is victorious. God is with you. And, it is in His strength that you are held securely in His hand.

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