What God Gives Us

2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Many of you are familiar with this passage when you have been in the grips of fear. It’s a great reassurance that God has not set us up for fear in this world. With many things we are trying to take out of our lives, we must replace those things with something else; the same is true here. God tells us what He wants us to put in place of fear: power, love and self-control.

Reflect on the kinds of power (strength, authority and rights) God has given you:

• Power to become a child of God: John 1:12
• Power to share Jesus with others: Acts 1:8
• Power to be joyful while enduring with patience: Colossians 1:11-12
• Power to Build Up the Brethren: 2 Corinthians 13:10
• Power to Work Beyond our Comprehension: Ephesians 3:20
• Power to Resist the Devil: Ephesians 6:10-18
• Power to be Secure in God: 1 Peter 1:3-5

Reflect on the Love He has given us:

• A Love to Redeem Us: John 3:16, Romans 5:8
• The Ability to Love: 1 John 4:19
• Love by Obedience: 1 John 5:3; John 14:15, 23; John 15:10
• The Love Commanded: Matthew 22:37-39; John 13:34-35; John 15:12,17; Romans 12:10; Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:12; Hebrews 10:24; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:14-15, 23; 1 John 4:7-13, 21

We looked at Power and Love as what God has given us to push out fear, but what about Self-Control? Before we go on, let’s look at some of the other translations given for self-control: sound mind; sound judgment; discipline; self-discipline; the Greek sofronismos can be translated discipline, sound mind or self control. Now think of times fear or anxiousness has gripped you – would self-control or a sound mind put the situation in a better light? Personally, I sometimes let the possible results of my actions grip me: “what if” what I say do offends or causes hurt? How do I avoid that? Is it possible to watch my every step so I don’t offend a brother in Christ? It’s a type of fear. The reality is that I have no control over someone’s reaction and actions resulting from that reaction. A sound mind tells me to rely on Titus 1:15-16 and try to act in purity in everything I do and say.

Did you notice what to use to have a sound mind or self-control? Applying the Word of God to the situation and try to look at it with God’s wisdom (James 3:17). What fear has a grip on you?

Remember the power given to you. Apply the love that has been given to you. Let the Word of God discipline you in your perception of the situation. Let fear disappear because God has equipped you to overcome it.