Israel had fallen into idolatry but their root sin was still unbelief and fear. In His mercy, God sent them a prophet to expose their root sin.

The prophet basically told them, “Look at you—a bunch of wimps, hiding out, afraid to stand up and fight. You’ve already given up. But you have a history of God’s deliverance! You have a history of Jesus showing up to HELP YOU! God gave your fathers and mother great victories, and He has promised to deliver you too—yet you don’t believe Him!” (see Judges 6:8-10). Why do you let fear hold “YOU hostage”, when Jesus Christ is YOUR LORD and Savior?

Many Christians are terrified the devil is going to destroy them. They are afraid they will make a mistake or go back to their sin. But that is a lie from the pit of hell! The Bible says you do not have to be terrified as you walk through this life.

When you hold on to fear, it becomes contagious. When Gideon gathered his army, God told him to send home every fearful soldier: “Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart … and twenty-two thousand of the people returned.” (see Judges 7:3).

God is speaking the same word to His Church today, asking, “Why do you fear? Why do you sin by not trusting Me to bring victory into your life? I have promised to defeat every demonic power that comes against you.”

Gideon’s father, Joash, had erected statues of Baal and the goddess Asherah from huge stones for the people to worship. This became a powerful, demonic stronghold in Israel. God told Gideon, “I am not going to deliver Israel until you get rid of these idols. Lay them aside, Gideon. Cut them down.”

God is giving His Church today the same message: “You are full of fear. And before I bring deliverance, you must pull down this stronghold, this besetting sin!”

“Lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1). Victory comes by praying in faith, expecting God to answer. Victory comes to those who follow God’s direction. Victory comes to those who partner with Jesus and Make Him the Lord of their lives. Victory does come but not when “Fear holds folks hostage”!

You Are God’s Treasure

The Word says, “And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life” (Proverbs 6:26). The adulteress spoken of in this verse is Satan—and he hunts down those who are precious to God.

The Bible gives us a vivid illustration of this in Numbers 13 and 14. Israel had sent twelve spies to search out the Promised Land. When the spies returned after forty days, ten of them planted three lies in the hearts of God’s people:

1. “There are too many people in the land. They are too strong for us.”
2. “The cities are walled too high. The strongholds are impregnable.”
3. “There are giants in the land, and we are no match for them. We’re helpless, finished!”

These lies took the heart right out of Israel. Scripture says the people endured a night of despair. “So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night” (Numbers 14:1). More than 2 million people were weeping, wailing, moaning—focused completely on their weaknesses and inabilities.

Beloved, the devil still lies to God’s people today. He whispers, “Your trials and temptations are too overwhelming. You are too weak to resist the power coming against you.” The devil might keep trying to scare you into thinking that God can’t or God won’t save you and those you love!

The word that God spoke to Israel is for us today: “You shall be a special treasure to Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine” (Exodus 19:5). “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure” (Deuteronomy 14:2).

Joshua and Caleb had a revelation of their preciousness in God’s eyes. They said, “Because He delights in us, the land is as good as ours” (see Numbers 14:8).

David had the same revelation: “He delivered me because He delighted in me” (Psalm 18:19). Likewise, every victorious Christian today has this same revelation: “We cannot fail—because we are precious to the Lord and we are partners with Jesus, and Jesus Christ is still the LORD OF THE STORM!

Author Dave Wilkerson & WIN International Ministries
World Challenge, Inc. © 2012. Used by permission.