Don’t allow your God- given gifts to be withheld from expression in this life because of fear. 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 NKJV)
The Greek word here for fear is deilia, which is most accurately translated as “timidity.” This is a word we can easily relate to. To experience timidity or intimidation means being deterred from action due to fear. But the more important aspect here is that a spirit is the ultimate origin of intimidation. It’s a spiritual force, and if we don’t address fear on a spiritual level, its roots are not fully cut off.
I know all about this because I battled this spirit for many years. I assumed it was a weakness in my personality. But during a set of church meetings in the early 1990s, I discovered I was completely wrong in my assessment.
These meetings were scheduled to last for only four days in a small-town church, but instead they turned into a three-week move of God. Every night, the building was packed to capacity, and many were saved, healed, and delivered. The gift of God in my life to preach was in high gear. It was remarkable. People traveled as far as ninety miles to attend the nightly services. I distinctly remember going into the empty sanctuary during the daytime, and it seemed as if God’s presence had settled in the building.
But one evening in the final week, all this changed. Some of the worship leaders had criticized my ministry the night before. What they said was relayed to me by one of the church leaders just before that evening’s service. The comments seemed opinionated, yet harmless. The pastor dismissed their remarks. We then prayed and went into the sanctuary, as we’d done for so many services. However, I couldn’t shake the worship leaders’ words from my thoughts. My focus shifted from preparing for the upcoming service to critiquing my message from the previous evening.
That evening, everything seemed dry. I tried to minister as I’d done for the previous two weeks, but I was confused, couldn’t keep a thought, and hated being on the platform. I wanted to escape out the back door. I felt powerless, like a teenager in a high school speech class, miserably failing to communicate before my fellow students. There was no anointing, no presence of God on me. It was horrible. I closed the service early and returned to where I was staying.
I found myself upset with God. Why didn’t He help me? Why was this service so different? Why did I feel abandoned? I thought, That message and ministry time was pathetic. Nobody will come back tomorrow night. In fact, I don’t want to go back tomorrow.
I went to bed hoping the next day would be different.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Japheth Mast
1. Pray Fervently and Seek God’s Voice
The following morning, I woke up heavy, depressed, and discouraged.
I tried to pray, but to no avail. The concern over what was wrong began to grow.
That afternoon, I spent three hours in prayer. I battled thoughts of failure the entire time. I roused myself to push past the heaviness and psyched myself up for the upcoming service.
That night in the sanctuary, the worship felt just as dry as the night before, and I felt I had nothing to give. Again, I wanted to run out the back door. Once introduced, I got up and floundered for a few minutes. I couldn’t finish a thought. At one point, I heard a voice in my head say, Why did you say that? Where are you going with this message? You’re pathetic!
At that point, I’d had it. I suddenly blurted out in front of six hundred people, “I don’t know what’s wrong, but something hasn’t been right here for the past two evenings. Can you please stand and pray with me?”
As we all prayed, God spoke to me—the first time I’d heard His voice in more than twenty- four hours. He reminded me of what Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:7, as I heard Him say, Son, you are intimidated by the worship team on the platform behind you. Break the spirit of intimidation and speak what I’m giving you.
I did what He said, and a bold message from 2 Timothy 1:7 immediately followed. It was the most powerful of all twenty-one services. Seventy-five percent of the people came forward, admitting they also battled intimidation. The aisles were packed with people seeking prayer for freedom.
The pastor got back with me a few weeks later to report how effective that service had been. The leaders who’d made the critical comments about me were living in blatant sin— adultery, fornication, and drunkenness. All was revealed over the next couple of weeks, and all but one of them left the church. The pastor reported that since then, his worship team had never been so unified and effective. It was a life-altering and ministry-altering experience.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Tinnakorn Jorruang
2. Speak to Your Fear
The most important discovery for me was learning that the spirit of intimidation must be directly spoken to—just like Jesus speaking the Word of God directly to Satan during the wilderness temptations. Jesus didn’t ask His Father to alleviate the attacks; He Himself addressed the devil, firmly and pointedly.
3. Never Back Down
What is most important in the face of fear and intimidation is that we firmly resolve to never back down. God will back us when we run up against this force. Intimidation is beatable, but we must hit it head- on with God’s Word and promises.
I repeat: God is for you. He believes in you. He wants you to flourish in the gifts He’s placed in your life.
So don’t draw back. Don’t let anyone or anything deter you from your mission and destiny.
Adapted from You are Called by John Bevere. Copyright 2025 by John Bevere. Used with permission of Thomas Nelson Publishing.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Marjan Apostolovic
Originally published Tuesday, 13 May 2025.