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“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”—2 Timothy 1:7 Anxiety can drive you crazy. It can keep you awake at night, wreck your health and make your life miserable. But it’s based upon a lie! And needs to be recognized for the false accusation it is. Anxiety challenges God’s Word, just as Satan tried to do to Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days when the devil began his temptation with, “If you are the Son of God…”(Matthew 4:3). The first thing the enemy does is challenge our identity as God’s son or daughter. Then he plants a lie that takes root, and we begin to believe it. Worry, fear, and anxiety insinuate themselves into our minds, and hearts and without realizing it, we’ve agreed with the enemy. What lie are you believing? And how do you stop? Jesus immediately responded with the Word of God: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” God’s Word identifies us as His children with promises that we can cast our fear, anxiety, and worry upon Him. When the enemy attacks, we need to recognize the origin of the lie, then renounce it, confess, and repent: Lord I have agreed with the enemy and allowed a stronghold in my heart. Now there is one more thing to do. Replace the lie with the truth, which is the Word of God. Perhaps you believe that you’re just a fearful person. You’re anxious. That’s your nature and identity. We fall for such deceit even when we’ve walked with the Lord for decades. The truth is: God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. You are a child of God. No exceptions. If you belong to Him you are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, deeply loved, with a healthy mind strong enough to resist the enemy and live in victory. This is your true identity. Memorize those words, bury them deep in your heart and mind and then go live them! “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world…they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4, NIV
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