by Jim Driscoll
Stir
the Water users often write in and ask me about the frightening
experiences they had as children. Some of them would see horrible
things in their rooms at night. They would hear voices, threats,
inexplicable sounds and other things that would terrify them. Many of
them struggled with nightmares and what some people call "night
terrors."Some will not Understand
The result was that some of these gifted people came to believe the gifting was actually a curse, and some begged God to make it stop or to take it away.
As a kid and teenager, I spent years sleeping with a blanket over my head because I was afraid of what I would see in my bedroom. My family attended a church that preached the Gospel, so I knew that demons couldn't harm me and that the angels were present to do only good, but I was so frightened that for twelve years, I cursed my eyes, praying that I wouldn't see anything.
It wasn't until after I read Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness (Crossway Books, original printing 1986) that I felt comfortable facing the enemy. I stopped being afraid of him. I stopped being afraid of many things as I realized the authority God has given us.
Shut Down the Gift
Many of us are in various stages of taking back what was shut down in us as children. Perhaps you experienced spiritual activity as a child and had non-rational thoughts that seemed more real than rational thoughts. Perhaps now you need to come before God and repent for refusing the gifting He gave you. All giftings are from God. Satan can't give us any type of gifting, which is why he goes after people who have them. He is intent upon using those giftings for his own purposes or for scaring us into submission to him.
How do we begin to come out of this
fear?
The key to not being afraid of what we're experiencing isn't knowing that our experiences are of God; the key is not being afraid either way - whether they're of God or the enemy. This is important because it is difficult to discern anything accurately when we're trembling in fear. We have to overcome our fear first, and then, as we do that, our discernment will increase. We'll be able to tell the source of what we're experiencing, and then we can get rid of what is from the enemy and welcome more of God.
As many of us have experienced, the moment of overcoming fear can be very, very hard. The only way I know how to make this mental transition is by becoming aggressive. If there's something in our house or bedroom at night, we want to know about it, so we can deal with it. That's a very intentional shift, and at the beginning, it can be difficult and frightening. But once we take that first step, it becomes easier.
Face your Fears
Being afraid and running away is much more terrifying than facing our fears. If we determine to find out the source of what we're experiencing, no matter what that may be, our intentionality will diminish our fear. Rampant fear comes not so much from being afraid as it does from running away, acting or panicking in fear. Therefore, if we run toward what we're afraid of, the cycle will break, and we will find freedom. We will be able to use our giftings in peace.
God has given us authority over the enemy. It takes time to truly understand that, but as we begin to understand it, the fear leaves, because we realize there isn't a reason for us to have it.
by Jim Driscoll
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