2 Timothy 1:6,7
Therefore I remind you that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the laying on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
People often quote 2 Timothy 1:7, and exclude verse 6, I believe they go hand in hand. When we define stir it means to disturb, shake, ruffle, move, shift. If we look at the Greek text, it means “to rouse oneself up!”
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he is telling him that God has given him a gift, but it is useless if it is lying dormant and not being exercised or used. Paul is admonishing Timothy to find the gift within himself, ignite it and use it as God commands. Paul reminds Timothy that by the laying on of his hands that he has already touched and agreed with Timothy’s gift, now he must go forth and use it!
This is where the two verses coincide; God has given all of us a spiritual gift, but all too many are deathly afraid to operate in their gift because of fear! God has called some to walk away from jobs but the enticement of a cushiony salary keeps them in an unfulfilling career. God has called some to start their own business but because of a lack of faith or fear of failure, they continue living in mediocrity. Some divorcees fear getting married again; some fear a person or people, some fear change or some may have a fear of the future. More, some have debilitating phobias that have crippled them from moving forward in life. Some people fear simply how they are going to survive day-to-day.
Beloved, when you think of a gift you may think in terms of a talent. Your gift could simply be being a good mother and raising morally upright, compassionate, and loving children. Maybe your gift is being a support system to a handicapped spouse or sick family member, taking care of the elderly, being a greeter at your church, being a listening ear to the downtrodden or you may be an encourager at your workplace. The list could very well go on and on. But my point is that your gift is whatever it is that God has called you to do, whether on a grand scale or on a minuscule one; whether you touch one life or thousands! But if you are bound by fear beloved, no matter what area you are called to serve in you will be ineffective! Your gift will be like a beautifully wrapped box that has never been opened for the receiver to enjoy!
I believe if one has not studied and mastered the area of faith, it will be nearly impossible to conquer fear! Faith and fear are conjoined and you cannot defeat the one without the other! But I would like to deflect a bit further if I may. As I was reading in 2 Timothy today, it occurred to me that faith is my birthright! In chapter 1:5, Paul tells Timothy that he is reminded of the faith “that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” That tells me we, like Timothy, come from a lineage of courageous, tenacious and faith filled people! More, Hebrews 11:1-11 gives an account of those before us who over came adversity by standing on the shoulders of faith! But I like how Hebrews 11:12, goes on to say,
Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
Beloved! We are the descendants of faith! Amen! Faith is inherent within our bloodline, all we have to do is revisit our history and claim what rightfully belongs to us and reclaim the inheritance that our forefathers left us! Oftentimes, we feel like we have to go looking outside ourselves for an answer, no God is telling us we already have the gift within us, we just have to tap into its power and use it! Hebrews 11:13, wraps it up by saying:
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Even though as Christians we are exiles on the earth and face persecution, rejection, and opposition, the Bible tells us that we can change how we choose to react to life’s challenges by having a mind that believes in the unseen, supernatural power of the Living God and Savior Jesus Christ; and like those before us, we can pull our hopes, dreams and desires out of the spirit realm, and make them tangible in our lives by exercising our God given faith!
Did not Abigail have faith after David gave a decree to kill her husband Nabal upon refusing hospitality to David and his servants, by bringing David a peace offering even though he could have still killed her and taken whatever he wanted? What about the Centurion who came to Jesus because of his paralyzed servant. The man told Jesus, “just say the word and my servant will be healed.” How many of us have that type of faith to command a blessing from God and believe that it will come to pass? More, how many of us have enough faith to believe God’s word that He will heal? We read it in the Bible, and sometimes God specifically tells us He is going to do it, yet we still doubt and do not believe!
Jesus was so amazed he said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith!” Jesus was teaching throughout the land, and although he had gained a mass following, here He has found a man that actually put His teaching into practice, as opposed to His very own followers!
How many of us are following Christ and can’t even believe Him for small things, let alone moving the mountains of fear in our lives? We just go through the motions desperately hoping everything will work out instead of speaking to the mountain and commanding it, in Jesus’ name to move!
Matthew 17:20, tells us that if we have the faith of a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for us!
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would. And his servant was healed at that moment.”
What I am hearing is that as we believe so will it be! Whatever the mind anticipates, it follows through. Have you ever had to wake up really early in the morning and throughout the night you keep waking up on the hour, in panic wondering if you’ve overslept? The mind is simply carrying out orders in which you have pre-programmed into it the day before! It is expecting the outcome of your thoughts!
Beloved, you must first program your mind to speak to the behemoths in your life and to stand on faith; only then will you be able to put on your spiritual armor found in Ephesians 6:10-18, and go to battle and conquer your fears! It is a battle because once you make up your mind to fight the enemy of fear, the devil will do everything he can to side track you, undermine you, put you in situations that exacerbate your fear, and tell you that you will never be delivered from this problem! It will be very frustrating. And, can I tell you, God will allow it because it is exactly what you need to go through to be delivered from its grips! It’s called tough love! You are going to have to be broken to get a breakthrough! It will involve tears, embarrassment, patience and suffering until God works your fears out of you! Beloved, that’s why you must faith it till you make it! I don’t know what your fears or phobias are: flying, closed spaces, driving, heights, public speaking, driving over water, leadership, or even death. Whatever it is, won’t you grab onto the hand of God to go before you, and the hand of faith to walk beside you? One day at a time. Be determined to be a conqueror. Don’t let the devil pigeonhole your life! God wants to use you and He can’t do that if you are operating in a spirit of fear!
Most importantly, you will never be able to live the best life God has for you if you are sidelined by fear. Live fearlessly and abundantly; but most of all live victoriously!
-Puah Neiel
Healing Balm Cafe 
Can I have your views on this:
https://jamesedwardsharp.wordpress.com/2015/09/01/pentecost-myths-about-intercession-part-5/
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