Courage, Not Fear - 2 Timothy 1:6-7
I wrote just the other day (9 Mar) that this verse, 2 Timothy 1:7 was really speaking to me in a new way, giving me a new appreciation for it. I want to expand on that now. Let’s back up and look at the verse before it as well. 2 Timothy 1:6-7 says:
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Paul writes this letter to Timothy, his fellow worker for Christ, in a time when Timothy was intimidated and discouraged. Doesn’t that just sum up how we feel when afraid? Intimidated and discouraged. But here is Paul encouraging us onward. He says that there is no fear in the Spirit of God. This is the same Spirit that we have been given. Yes, this same Holy Spirit of which we talk and sing about. No fear. Instead, the Spirit gives us, yes, GIVES us, power, love, and self-control.
When I really started looking at this, my eyes widened in understanding. His Spirit is a gift to us, freely given. And along with the Spirit is the gift of power; the gift of love; and the gift of self-control. Interestingly though, Paul prefaces this by saying that the gift must be fanned into a flame.
Fan the flame
Fanning the flame means giving it oxygen, feeding it material that burns. We have to acknowledge the gifts of God and then use them and exercise them. Each of us has our own, but we all have the Spirit of God which has been given us. Are we calling on the Spirit? Are we inviting the Spirit to guide us, comfort us and sanctify us? There is much that the Spirit will do… if we are willing. Ephesians 3:20 complements this idea that the Spirit is power working within us. Are we letting him? Are we listening to this Power of God? This is something that we will address again, as it is too important to let one paragraph stand as sufficient.
Power of the Holy Spirit
I think I always just put myself in the begging position. Begging for the Spirit to use power to move or do. But there is power in us. No need to beg. There is a need to grab on to that power and use it for the kingdom. Matthew 17:20 gives us the ideal example of our using this power, not asking the Spirit to intervene, but to intervene in the power of the Spirit’ ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’ Not too long ago in my small group, I recall saying something along the lines of ‘we don’t accompany Him; we act and he accompanies us.’ But even then I don’t think that I really let that truth settle in.
God has imparted his Spirit to work here on earth in this time, but for the most part he acts through us. He doesn’t model actions and then we do it. He nudges us in small ways to do or say His will. That is the beginning of His power in us. We have to fan that flame by following it and acting in His Word. So, no fear, but power. We stand with the power of God on our side, in our lives, in us.
Love of the Holy Spirit
The love of the Holy Spirit is what drives us on. The love that we recognized and made us fall to our knees and accept Him as Lord and Savior now carries us on in the Spirit. That love that 1 Corinthians 13 describes better than any of us could, carries us through the lonely and fearful times of life. It hoists us into his arms when we can’t walk anymore and raises our fists in jubilation when we triumph. His love pours out upon us as we give over the fears that we have listed, the ones that we have carried for too long. His love pours in and fills those empty places left by that fear. Love conquers the fear of rejection, loneliness, financial ruin, abandonment, condemnation; it overcomes confusion. And the Spirit of Love is already within us, pouring into those places that need His soothing balm.
Self-control of the Holy Spirit
It has been interesting to look at this word. It is not the word that comes to mind in controlling ourselves; it is not self-mastery or restraint (as in the fruit of the Spirit). It is a meaning which is closer to ‘issuing in prudent, ‘sensible’ behavior that ‘fits’ a situation. HELPS Word Studies (Helps Ministries) translates this as ‘aptly acting out God’s will by doing what He calls sound reasoning’.
In those cases where we do things that are contrary to what we ‘normally’ do or things that we think would be better, that is the Spirit at work in us, the Spirit of Self-control. This happened to me just the other day. I was checking out at a store and my card didn’t go through. The cashier asked me if I wanted to check the balance or use another card. At this point, I would usually rant on the bank that we use (which perhaps deserves it, but as God’s representative, I’m trying to temper my behavior). It isn’t unusual for me to get hot under the collar and upset at the bank for their inefficient service. Instead, I recall praising God because I calmly said that I didn’t need to check and to please run it again. The card still didn’t work. I checked, but didn’t have enough cash, so we waited, at the register, for several minutes to do it again. The miracle was that I never once lost it, not in my head, not in my breathing, not in my voice. Not once. Praise God! This is the Spirit-controlled ‘me’ that I want to be! I want to flame this flame, and let the Spirit determine my action.
Spirit of Courage
Since we have a Spirit which is not of fear, we have a Spirit of Courage. We face our fear and come out the other side. We use the power of the Spirit to face it, love to carry us through and His action-control to change how we act and react. I have been asking for God to change my actions when it is a situation where I would usually get frustrated, and here is the fruit of that. The Spirit in action.
Would you share a story of the Spirit in action in your life? Share it publicly and proclaim the glory to God. Or send me an email as I’d love to hear from you.
