In a daily devotional which I listened to recently, there was a discussion of what the nature of fear is. In particular, they defined it by using an acrostic. They said that fear was: “False Evidence Appearing Real.” This acrostic could not be more accurate in the day and age in which we live. We live in an age of fear – fear we can easily classify as “false evidence appearing real.”
This fear has almost become a norm in our culture and is monetized by many. Whether it be the YouTuber, a Facebook post, or even a television network, our culture has turned fear into a currency. And it has benefited tremendously from feeding many false narratives as if they were the truth to create more fear and get more subscribers.
It is no wonder that the Apostle Paul reminds us of this in 2nd Timothy 1:7, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control,” (English Standard Version). God has given us a spirit of truth, for He has given us the Spirit of truth, His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. With truth comes power. There is love with truth. And self-control can only come through living in truth, (knowing what is right and how to live in the right).
Only by and through living in the Spirit of truth can we ever hope to overcome the spirit of fear in this world. How else are we to overcome the spirit of fear – false evidence appearing real – in this world? We need and require the truth.
Where do we get this truth? We obtain this truth from God; we receive this truth from Jesus; we abide in this truth through the Holy Spirit. It is by trusting in God, trusting in who He has shown us He is; trusting Him as the Lord and King, God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and the earth; knowing He is above all things. Thereby we can trust in his sovereign hands.
Therefore, the next time you find yourself in fear and the next time you find yourself afraid, ask, “Why is it you are fearful, or what are you afraid of?” Could it be false evidence appearing as real? Then take it before the truth. Take it before Christ and seek to respond by the Spirit you have been given – the Spirit of power, love, and self-control. It is by the Spirit of truth, not the spirit of this world, that we will overcome fear.
~ Pastor Brandon Zoll ~