Spirit Gifts

2 Timothy 1:7

There is a lot to unpack in this short verse. What does it mean for you when you read that God did not give you a spirit of fear? Fear is a human defense mechanism that helped us survive as a species. It is powerfully programmed into us, but note how the verse says that God did not give us a spirit of fear. The essence of this statement is that it’s perfectly normal to have a fear response like Indiana Jones or the Scarecrow when you see a snake or open flame. That fear response is natural and appropriate. The spirit of fear, however, is more in line with how you live your everyday life. God wants you to be bold and confident in Him, in His promises, provision, and protection. Since God does not give us that spirit of fear, we see that what God does give is a power of love and self-control. The word for power in the original Greek means transformation. The next two key words are love and self-control, both of which the Apostle Paul referred to in his list of gifts of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23). God did not give you a nature to be scared all the time, but wants you to be confident and bold because what He does give is a transforming love that can help you stay in control, even spanning your emotions from timid to terrified. So whatever it is you have to face today (or any day for that matter), you can be bold because God is with you. He gave you the gift of transformation by His love, and with that, the control you need to do hard — and sometimes scary — things. So let’s do it…let’s go!