5 Kinds of Fear, and How to Live a Fearless Life

We are definitely living in the latter part of the period known as the End of Days!

One of the signs of these end-of-days or the beginning of sorrows is the rising number of people who are paralyzed by fear and are on the verge of throwing in the towel! It is to this generation that Jesus says, “Men always ought to pray and not lose heart!” Outbreaks such as the COVID-19 virus that has already killed thousands of people around the world and brought countries to the verge of total economic collapse—all this has done for many people is incite more of their fears.

Most importantly there are many members of the body of Messiah who are just as scared as the rest of the world. The only problem with the problem of fear is that it begets more fear, not less. In most cases there is nothing more dangerous than “fear itself.” The day will come when we will look back at the outbreak of the coronavirus from the rearview mirror of history only to realize that our collective fear was a far more dangerous virus than COVID-19 itself! This is so true.

This is why there are at least 366 recorded times in the Holy Bible where God says, “Fear not!” God does not want His people to live in fear. The writer of Proverbs tells us that the wicked run when there is nothing chasing them! What a picture of fear! On the other hand, the righteous are as bold as lion. Anyone who has seen a lion in its natural habitant knows it is afraid of nothing. It walks lazily by as though it owns the jungle and every animal in it! This is the picture that God wants painted in the canvas of our minds! When you are a child of God there is nothing to fear…more than the fear itself!

Satan uses “fear” to bind us in the Courts of Heaven. In almost all cases of demonic bondage or entrapment, the driver that the devil uses to open the doors of oppression is the spirit of fear! Fear has a paralyzing and chilling effect. This is why there have been cases when people died from a prank! Where comedy went horribly wrong, because the person on the receiving end of the prank convinced themselves of its veracity, even when in actuality everything was all make believe.

Needless to say, if fear is allowed to contaminate the mind, it is such a powerful and immobilizing force that some people never fully recover from it.

Fear Not!

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. —Isaiah 41:10

Fear not! This expression appears in the canon of Scripture 366 times. Whichever way you slice this, God has a “Fear not” admonition for every person on earth for each day of the year! There is no other biblical admonition that comes close in its frequency to this admonition. What does God know about the destructive power of the “fear technology” that He wants to preserve us from? God certainly knows a whole lot about the destructive power of the spirit of fear.

In Hebraic tradition a truth is established at the testimony of two or three witness. What of something testified to 366 times in the Scriptures? The veracity of the expression “Fear not” is without question an established truth of Scripture. God does not want His people to live in “fear” regardless of the internal or external stimuli driving the fear. In God’s economy, there is absolutely no reason to live in fear!

The Spirit of Fear

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV).

However, it behooves us to first understand “fear” itself, before we can master and conquer it. You have to admit that no one understands “fear” more than God. So His description of fear will be our underlying template for breaking the stronghold of fear over your life. Notice that God identifies fear as a spirit being, not just a mindset. If fear is a spirit being it means it can think, will, and act independently of its host. Notice that the Scripture says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear.” This means that fear, like all other spirit beings, must be “received.” Spirits cannot enter into a human being unless they have first been received. So if you are living in fear, it’s because you already opened the door to the entrance of the spirit of fear. All spirits demand expression, including the Holy Spirit, so the spirit of fear will begin to project fearful thoughts in your mind in order to terrorize you further and find expression. With this understanding, it’s impossible to be free from fear unless we are delivered from the spirit of fear.

Second Timothy 2:17 shows us what God has given us, namely—power, love, and a sound mind. This Scripture underpins why “fear” is so toxic spiritually and mentally. It takes three doses of the operation of God’s Spirit (power, love, and a sound mind) to overthrow the spirit of fear. So God has to infuse you and I with the spirit of power (dunamis), His unconditional love, and a sound mind in order to inoculate us from the fear. The good news is that because “fear” is an actual spirit being and not just a mindset, it can be prosecuted in the Courts of Heaven and cast out of your life in Jesus’ name! We must learn how to prosecute the spirit of fear and issue a divine restraining order against it!

Twin Spirits: The Spirit of Fear and Death

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Based upon the above Scripture, fear has a twin sister spirit called death. The Bible tells us that in dying Jesus destroyed the power of death, that is the devil. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof that there is a supernatural force more powerful than death. However, it is this second part of this verse that interests me the most. It shows a unique relationship between the spirit of fear and the spirit of death. The writer of Hebrews shows us that satan used the fear of death to force people on earth into a lifetime of bondage to the forces of darkness. In other words, it is fear that opens the door to every other spirit to invade your life. This passage of Scripture also shows us that being afraid of death does not stop it from coming; it increases the possibility that you’re actually going to die. In other words, the fear of death opens the door to the spirit of death. You cannot have one without the other; they are twin spirits. It’s no wonder the Bible tells us not to live in fear. When the coronavirus pandemic hit the globe, the fear of it killed more people than the virus itself. The global fear of the virus popularly known as COVID-19 caused billions of dollars in losses to the global economy. We will quickly examine the different types of fears that are mentioned in Scripture that God want us to be free from.

Types of Fear #1: The Fear of Death

And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife” (Genesis 20:11).

One of the common fears mentioned in the Bible and that most people deal with on a daily bases is the fear of death. Everyone is afraid to die at some level. Death remains a mystery the people on the planet, even though centuries of civilization have shown us that it is an inevitable occurrence. One way or the other, somebody’s going to die, ever since Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden of Eden and opened the door to the spirit of death. When Abraham arrived in Gerar, because he was afraid of being killed by the people of Gerar by reason of his wife’s stunning beauty, he lied about the true nature of his relationship with his wife. He told them Sarah was his sister instead of his wife. So what was causing Abraham to place his wife in such a compromising situation? His fear of death. Even though he was a man of God, his fear of death had a tight grip on him. Sarah almost got sexually violated because of Abraham’s fear. Thankfully, in the New Testament we don’t have to be afraid of death because Jesus conquered death, hell, and the grave on the cross. Praise God!

Types of Fear #2: The Fear of Lack

And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is” (Genesis 21:17).

Another equally universal fear of man is the fear of lack. This fear of lack has made thieves out of decent men and women. Correctional facilities all over the world are full of men and women who are in prison because satan deceived them to steal company or government funds, using their fear of lack. In the above passage of Scripture, Hagar was crying in a corner because she did not want to see the death of her child because of the lack of food or water. God chose this time to speak life into her spirit. According to Scripture, an angel of God called out to Hagar and said to her, “Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.” It would seem to me that one of the many reasons most of us are afraid of lack is because we don’t believe that God has heard our prayers for provision. Let me assure you! We don’t serve a sleeping giant; we serve a mighty God who answers prayer at all times!

Types of Fear #3: The Fear of Failure

Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them (Numbers 14:9).

The fear of failure is one of the most predominant fears that terrorizes the collective consciousness of the people of the planet. Who wants to fail, anyway? No one! This is because God designed us as winners! We were born to dominate this world and rule over every circumstance. However, life has taught us that sometimes even the most well-planned events or companies fail. This knowledge by itself has closed many people to live in the shadow of the fear of failure. In the above passage of Scripture, even though the twelve spies Moses sent to spy out the Promised Land discovered that the land was truly a land flowing with milk and honey, they were nevertheless afraid of losing a war to the giants they found in the land. Most people are so afraid of failure, they don’t even try! If the last statement describes you, I say to you, in the name of Jesus Christ, fear not!

Types of Fear #4: The Fear of Ghosts or Demons

Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear (Matthew 14:25-26).

If most humans are like me, then they grew up with a background of folklore stories on ghosts and demons. Even though most humans are terrified of ghosts and demons, they are also intrigued by them. How else do we explain the horrific movies that come out during Halloween or the costumes people wear during Halloween? The truth of the matter is that most often people are afraid of ghosts and demons. This explains the above passage of Scripture, where Jesus showed up walking on water toward His disciples and they went into panic mode. In their minds, no human being could walk on water. So what they were seeing had to be a ghost or a demon. With that kind of thinking controlling their minds, they were terrified. Jesus quickly identified Himself to them.

How many people have opened the door to a spirit of fear to control their life because of their fear of ghosts and demons? I believe it’s countless thousands! To you I say, fear not!

Types of Fear #5: Imagined Fear

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased (Matthew 14:27-32).

Of all the fears that man has to deal with, perhaps there is no fear more paralyzing and nonsensical than the fear of the unknown. I also call this kind of fear imagined fear. The psychologically disturbing effects of this type of fear know no bounds. This is because this fear is not based on logic, experience, or what’s happening currently; it’s purely speculative.

Peter saw Jesus walking on water. He clearly verified that it was Jesus. To further authenticate that the man walking on water was actually Jesus, Peter admonished the Lord to bid him to come and walk on water with Him. Jesus responded positively and said, “Come.”

To his credit, Peter stepped out of the boat and began to walk on water. The first man in history other than Jesus to actually do so! Unfortunately, it did not last long. The reason was, Peter began to entertain imaginary fears about drowning in the water even though he was already walking on it. Once fear entered his heart, it ended his short-lived miracle. Jesus rebuked him for allowing his fears to get the best of him.

The Bible is full of the many different types of fears. What I have discussed in this book is not a comprehensive list of all the fears mentioned in the Bible. But it suffices to say that I can understand why God insists that His people restrain themselves from living in fear. God knows that fear is the number-one enemy to living in the Kingdom of God.

The Fear of the Lord

And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (Genesis 22:12).

And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin” (Exodus 20:20).

Thankfully, the Bible also introduces us to the reverential fear of the Lord. This is the only fear encouraged in Scripture. I call the fear of the Lord the one fear that sets us free from all other fears! The fear the Lord is the only fear that the Holy Spirit will ever introduce you to. This means that you must resist every other fear that is not the fear of the Lord. Every other fear will make you a subject or victim of bondage. Every other fear will terrorize your spirit and your mind, while the fear of the Lord will invigorate you.

Receive the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).

At the beginning of this chapter, we dissected 2 Timothy 2:17, which is says God has not given us a spirit of fear. I do not want you to forget the fact that all spirit-beings (divine or demonic) must be received before they can be experienced. Spirits don’t just happen. They must first be received and then find expression in the life of the receiver. Just like operating in fear requires a person to receive the spirit of fear, there is also a spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is far more powerful than the spirit of fear or the spirit of death! I want you to ask the Lord to fill you with the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which according to Scripture will make you free from the law of sin and death. Once you are free from the law of sin and death, fear will have no power over you!

My latest book contains a proven biblical model for living a fearless lifestyle. I encourage you to share this book with people or friends whom you know are struggling with fear.

Dr. Francis Myles