Fear.....or Faith

2 Timothy 1:6-7 NIV
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

This is the season of fear induced by the devil and his cohorts. In the past 2 weeks, I have had close friends and relations who have been robbed and harassed. One was robbed at 2am in his house at gunpoint and beaten, another was robbed and really hurt pretty bad. A lady relation was pushed from a moving vehicle and almost killed while yet another friend had the house almost burnt down but for divine intervention. But it just doesn't end there, does it? There's a choice that must be made: fight or flee. You can decide to give in and accept all that comes or you can decide to dig in and fight back, drawing inspiration from everything God has done in the past or promised for the future.
Fear can be a legitimate emotion, after all, fear is simply the absence of faith. If all you have when you consider all the events around you is fear, then you need to examine yourself again. When the Spirit of God inhabits a life, fear doesn't come up. That is the assurance of the passage quoted above. In the face of daunting challenges, faith says: 'I will trust what God says, not what events around me are saying'. Faith says:' no matter what happens, I will hold on to the promises of God and his word'.
Fear on the other hand flees at the first sight of trouble. Most times too, sin could be the fear-inducing factor. When a life is under the influence of sin, there's nothing faith in God can do. Sin is a limiting factor to Faith or the promises of God. That is why Romans 6:1-2b NIV says: What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!
Make a choice today: live in sin and remain in bondage to fear and the devil OR live above sin and live within the amazing provision that faith in God guarantees. The choice is ours. His time of favour is here.