Fear

Exhausted anxiety
Face numb
Chest tightening
Hard to breathe
Lonesome like no other
Thoughts of self-harm
Past haunting
Distress reappearing
Misunderstood
Heavy, so extremely heavy

These words describe the content of my heart late summer of 2025. I just came off a time of dense fear and depression. It was crippling to say the least. The situation I was facing is far too long to describe at this time. In a nutshell, I had trauma from the past resurfacing, and I was panicking and spiraling to a pretty dark place. Thanks to Jesus, I got out by speaking truth, declaring the promises of the Bible, praying, worshiping, and letting the Lord parent me.

When we experience disabling fear, distressing anxiety, and other various torments, from my perspective, this is the enemy at work.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Fear is not of the Lord.

“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). If you have a relationship with Jesus and He resides in your heart, you have authority over the enemy. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).

Relationship with Jesus and having Him reside in your heart—what are you talking about, Ashley? Having a relationship with Jesus and Him living in your heart means you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, asked for forgiveness for yours sins, and believed that He died on the cross for your sins and was resurrected from the dead. Then you talk to Him. You talk to Jesus and you never stop.

When you have relationship with Jesus, you can have confidence that when fear springs, creeps, or stirs up, you can put your gaze on the Lord and know that He has you. You can have assurance that Jesus is with you wherever you go (see Joshua 1:9) and He will help you through the situation that is causing you fear.

There are three things we can be reminded of when fear is knocking at the door and even a bonus fact around this topic of fear from 2 Timothy 1:7. Let’s look at it this verse one more time. “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). We need to remember that the Lord has given us:

1) Power

2) Love

3) A sound mind

Bonus fact: FEAR is not even of God!

I apply that fear is not of God, but power, love, and a sound mind are of Him in the following way:

Fear is not of God – This tells me that FEAR IS NOT OF THE LORD! If I am feeling or sensing fear, this is not the voice of Jesus and I am not to partner with it. Just this truth alone can move fear out the window.

Power—This conveys that if I have Jesus in my heart, I have authority in Christ to bind and cut off the enemy from attacking me in this area (or any area)! (See Luke 10:19 and Matthew 18:18.) After I bind and cut off the enemy, I pray in the Lord’s promises and truth. This is important.

Love—This expresses that whatever I am afraid of, I am to know that God loves me and will take care of the things I am fearful of. He is a good dad and has my back. I also need to love God, myself, and those around me.

Sound mind—This articulates that I need to renew my mind to what JESUS SAYS with the Word of God!

For example, let’s say I had the fear of finances. One way I could apply and pray these four things from 2 Timothy 1:7 could be, “(Fear is not of God) Jesus, first off, fear is not even of you. So I am not going to partner with it. (Power) I have the authority to bind and cut off this spirit. Therefore, I bind and cut off the spirit of fear from attacking me. Lord, bring in your peace, joy and confidence. (Love) God, I know you love me and will take care of me. You have always come through for me in the past, so you will come through for me now. You are a good Father who takes care of your children. Help me to stay calm and love myself, those around me, and you. (Sound mind) Lord, help me renew my mind to truth and let it be sound (let my thoughts be of what you say). Your Word says that you will provide all of my needs (Philippians 4:19), so I will hold fast to that promise. Thank you, Jesus, that you have me!”

This has been a huge part of my life recently. My parents didn’t always model how to handle certain things in life, so I need the Lord to show me. The number one way the Lord has re-parented me, in the last year, is with the topic of fear. I was never shown a godly way to handle something I faced that caused anxiety, panic, or worry. So, when my heart is beating fast and chest starts to grow warm, I instantly look to the Lord as a child would a parent. I literally see Him as my dad, who is in the room. I put my gaze on Him and I watch how He responds.

He is not panicking about the things that are in front of me! If He is chill, I am chill. As I look to Him, I hear, “I am with you. I am not going anywhere. You will not have to do this alone. I will show you how to walk this out and will hold your hand as we do so.” With that said:

(A) Put your gaze on the Lord as a child would.

(B) The Lord will look to you with unconditional love, nurture, and guidance.

(C) Jesus is not going anywhere; He will walk whatever you are going through with you. He is strong, mighty, brave, loyal, compassionate, tender, and loving. He will keep these attributes always.

(D) Share and ask the Lord, “Please parent me through this. How do I handle this? Why is fear in the room? Where is this rooted from? Model to me how to respond.” The Lord’s voice will be that of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the principles of the Bible.

I usually ask Jesus these questions over a cup of coffee with my journal out. After I inquire of the Lord, I will wait for Him to respond by words in my mind, a picture in my head, or perhaps a letter. I will write down what He says. I will often partner the journaling with reading the Word. It has been amazing the number of times He has spoken to me through the Bible, and He will do the same for you.

Sometimes when I ask the Lord various things, He does not respond right away, and that is okay. I give Him time.

(E) Whatever the Lord reveals and presses on your heart, do it. If you stumble with the things He says, it’s okay. Remember, He is patient. He understands that His kids don’t always get it the first time!

A final way to help combat fear when it is knocking at your door (or is already inside) is by putting on the Armor of God. If you are unfamiliar with this armor, it is made up of six pieces and is shown in Ephesians 6:10–20. I will list out these six pieces with a short description of how I see them being used. I would encourage you to put this armor on and not take it off. You can put it on by praying these pieces over yourself out loud or inwardly, journaling them, or even drawing a little picture of them. Check in with yourself daily to see if any piece needs a tightening!

1. Belt of Truth—Cling to the truth of Jesus. You can know His truth by reading the Bible.

2. Breastplate of Righteousness—You are in right standing with the Lord because of what Jesus did on the cross. We want to do our best to live a righteous lifestyle too.

3. Feet Fitted with the Readiness of the Gospel of Peace—Repentance, knowing the gospel, sharing the gospel, receiving God’s peace, and sharing His peace. The gospel is what I shared earlier about having Jesus in your heart.

4. Shield of Faith—Your faith in Christ and all that He says will block the fiery arrows of the enemy that want to destroy you.

5. Helmet of Salvation—You are saved and renew your mind with God’s promises.

6. Sword of the Spirit—This is the Bible; use it to strengthen yourself and fight against the lies of the enemy.

Jesus loves you. He loves you more than you will ever know. The Lord is coming through for you. He will perfect all that concerns you (see Psalm 138:8 NKJV). Jesus, I pray for all those reading, let them know You, Your love, and that they have nothing to fear because You are in the room. You are not going anywhere. You are holding them and will not let go.

You are loved. - Ashley

If you have never asked Jesus into your life and you would like to do so, you can pray the following prayer. If you would like to talk to me about accepting Jesus in your heart, please feel free to email me at: dudekashley@gmail.com.

“Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask that you forgive me. I repent (I turn away from my sin). I believe that you died on the cross for my sins and that God raised you from the dead. Jesus, I believe that you are Lord and Savior! I ask that you come into my life and my heart. Help me grow in my relationship with you. Thank You! Amen.” (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:9–10; Acts 3:19; Romans 10:9–10; Ephesians 2:8; Acts 3:26)

If you are wanting to know more about spiritual warfare, from someone out here on Substack, I would recommend Tom Snow. He is a friend of mine and I respect him very much!

Photo Recognition: The first photo (sad flower) is by Liana S. on Unsplash. The picture of two people talking is by Ben Kessler on Unsplash. Thank you! The others are by me. 🩶