“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9). God spoke these words to a man who was about to enter what He had promised.
This article takes Joshua’s call to possess the land and applies it to fear: what fear is, where it comes from, and how love, the Word, prayer and trust overcome it. Read it, and possess what God has given you.
“And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither” (Deu 34:1-4).
Moses was an outstanding man of God. The Scriptures testified of him in the last verses of the thirty-fourth chapter of Deuteronomy as the greatest prophet whom God knew face to face. There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses. But because the sins of the children of Israel rubbed off on him, he was prevented from entering the promised land. He wanted to and pleaded with God, but to no avail. What God did for him was allow him to see the land far off from the top of Mount Nebo.
“So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, as the LORD had said. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows the location of his grave. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not diminished” (Deu 34:5-7, BSB).
Before his death, Moses the man of God had laid his hands on Joshua the son of Nun as his successor in leading the people of God into the land of promise. When he did, the Spirit of God descended upon Joshua, and he was filled with the Spirit of wisdom, and the Israelites obeyed him and did what the Lord had commanded through Moses.
“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead” (Josh 1:1, 2a).
The era of the Law was passing away. Moses was dead. Keeping the Law was good, but could not bring anyone into the promised land. The Law is feckless. Laboring under the Law cannot cause us to enter God’s Rest. Only faith can. So the Lord God called Joshua, saying: “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel” (Josh 1:2).
God said to Joshua, “Now therefore, awake, arise and go over Jordan and begin to contend with him in battle and take over the land which I have given you.” (Deu 2:24)
“Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Josh 1:3-5,8,9).
God’s admonition to Joshua constantly included the fact that he needed to be strong and full of courage. Joshua was to put on the strength of the Lord. He had walked in faith before. Joshua was one of the twelve spies. Together with Caleb, he wholly followed the Lord and brought a good report of the land. He and Caleb had encouraged the congregation to trust the Lord and march, in obedience to God, to take the land.
They saw the same obstacles the other ten spies saw, but they chose to trust God and walked in faith, while the others were crippled by fear. The devil uses fear to attack many of God’s children. He comes to us all, as a roaring lion seeking to devour, or to steal and deprive us of the blessings, the Father has bestowed upon us. Fear may manifest itself as anxiety, worry, apprehension, or concern. These are still fear-based emotions.
The cause of fear is found in its definition. Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that something dangerous or catastrophic is going to happen. It’s an anticipation of pain or danger. The keyword here is anticipation. Faith is an expectation that the word of God, His word of deliverance, success, and prosperity concerning you, is about to manifest. In faith, the keyword is expectation. To expect is to believe.
On the other hand, fear causes one to anticipate the worst. It is a negative form of belief. The enemy tries to get you to disbelieve the promises of God, tries to make you imagine the worst possible outcome, makes you anticipate it, and so you become fearful. It is negative faith, and therefore it’s very potent. With faith, we overcome the world. In the same manner, when we live under fear, the enemy can overcome us.
Is the devil bullying you through the spirit of fear? Many of God’s people are not aware that God has given them authority over the spirit of fear.
Not only has God delivered us from the spirit of bondage to fear, He has also given us authority over fear in Jesus’ name. He defeated the devil and all his evil forces. And He gave us authority to trample over serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt us.
The key to overcoming fear is total and complete trust in God. Trusting God is how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced the fiery furnace without fear (Dan 3). Trusting God is how Stephen stood before his killers, fearlessly testifying His word, and declaring what He saw in a vision (Acts 7). To trust God is refusing to give in to fear. Even in the darkest times, we can trust in God to make things work out for good. This trust comes from knowing God and knowing that He is good. Once we have learned to put our trust in God, we will no longer be afraid of the things that come against us. We will be like the psalmist who said with confidence,
“But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever shout for joy. May You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You” (Psa 5:11, BSB).
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim 1:7). A spirit of fearfulness and timidity does not come from God. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18, BSB).
If, as children of God, we still fear God’s punishment, we have not yet believed in His love for us. To help our faith in His love, God has liberally sprinkled encouragement concerning His love for us throughout the Bible. He tells us that nothing shall separate us from the love that He has for us in Christ Jesus. He tells us He will never leave us or forsake us. God tells us not to be afraid of being alone, of being too weak, of not being heard in our prayers, or of being destitute. These admonishments cover many different aspects of the “spirit of fear.”
God has given us His own Spirit. He gave birth to us; therefore our spirits came from Him. And He has not given us a spirit of timidity, nor has He given us the spirit of bondage to fear. He has given us the spirit of love, of power, and of a sound mind.
Fear is a spirit. And it’s a messenger the enemy often sends to attack children of God with the goal of intimidating and defeating them. He goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can, using fear, subdue and devour. We are to resist him steadfastly. We are to stand against him by faith using the word of God.
Why Do We Christians Live in Fear?
Is it because we do not trust God? Or we do not believe in His love?
Surely if His word dwells in us richly, fear will have no place. Fear will have its way with us if we deny ourselves daily communion with Him or we do not learn to walk in the Spirit. But if we believe in His love and walk in it, there will absolutely be no place in us for fear.
Perfect love casts out fear. Fear is tormenting.
The devil torments people with different types of fear. These include:
- fear of failure,
- fear of death,
- fear of sickness and disease,
- fear of lack,
- fear of evil report, and
- the fear of man.
Outcomes of fear include panic and emotional breakdown. Fear leads to defeat, total and complete. If we sow fear, we’ll reap torment. If we walk in fear, we displease God. Fear is the absence of faith. And without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Overcome Fear
How can I overcome fear?
First, I need to wait upon God. And walk in daily expectation of God’s favor. I need to live in constant knowledge of God’s love for me. I know He loves me because I am His child and the apple of His eye. This is my confidence.
If the Almighty loves me this much, who is there to fear? All fear is gone because I know Him who holds tomorrow. I know Him who controls all things, and I am His beloved.
I know who I am—God’s child. I know who my Father is—God. And I know who my enemy is—a defeated foe.
Second, I study and meditate on His word daily. His word builds an overcoming faith in me. I overcome by soaking myself in God’s word. I am strengthened by His word, and I become a master over fear and demonic forces. I am no longer intimidated; I become an intimidator over the devil. Yes, the tables have been turned, the predator has become the prey.
Third, I overcome fear with prayer, praying with all manners of prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. My prayers also become more effective as I wait upon God with fasting to subdue my flesh and enthrone the spirit. I am daily engaged in spiritual warfare, becoming more and more proficient in wielding and using the supernatural weapons of our warfare:
- faith,
- truth,
- high praises of God on my lips, and the
- two-edged sword in my hand.
Fourth, I cultivate the habit of casting my cares on Christ Jesus, and let Him carry my burden for me. He has paid for them already on the cross, so why should I bear them again?
When I am hit by difficult issues of life that are too big for me, I back off and let Him take care of them. Casting these scary cares on Him releases me, and all fears are gone as I hear Him softly say, “Fear not, boy, only believe.”
- As I hear Him say those words, I sing this song:
- Only believe, only believe,
- All things are possible, Only believe.
- Only believe, only believe,
- All things are possible, Only believe.
- Sing the next verse as a response of faith:
- LORD, I believe, LORD, I believe,
- All things are possible, LORD, I believe.
- LORD, I believe, LORD, I believe,
- All things are possible, LORD, I believe.
Application
- Remember what you have been given: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
- Rest in His love: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18).
- Pray about everything: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).
- Hear Him say it: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God” (Isaiah 41:10).
Key Takeaway
Fear is overcome by trusting God, knowing His love, and standing on His Word.
Conclusion
Take what God has promised, refuse fear, and go in to possess it.
CALL TO ACTION
Content License: This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. You may share this article with attribution and a link back to the original URL. Commercial use, paraphrasing without attribution, or republishing without written permission is prohibited. © 2026 To Know Jesus — Joseph S. Olarewaju.