What if a homeless dog comes into your house doing its best to make a mess in every room, tearing things down and breaking all it can, what would your reaction be? Well, I don't think I would be sitting around watching this dog doing all the things mentioned above! When you first see its intention of harm, you kick the creature out of your home and that's it! If we only knew that we have power over the spiritual enemies in the same manner! Just as with a physical enemy, fear is a spiritual enemy that will do all the possible damage if you let it in! So even more than the dog mentioned above, we need to cast out fear! First of all we need to understand that fear is a spirit and it is not from God. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 Fear or many times as translated in modern language ,"stress" (in its negative connotation) is known to have all the negative effects possible, from ruining our mood to putting pressure on our body, thus leading to all kinds of diseases and dysfunctions like ulcer, diabetes, heart conditions, etc. However, it is difficult sometimes to identify it because fear can come dressed up in a good intention or even in a logical concern like: "How am I going to survive in the future because I have lost my job? How am I going to get over this bad habit? What is my boss going to do next about my situation?" There are many questions that lead to stressful situations with the goal of stealing our peace and joy, replacing them with anxiety and fear of failure and all kinds of other fears. Anything that disturbs the God given peace is a relative of fear. We might not see it creeping in but we can surely see the results! Fear will alter our decision-making process causing twisted conclusions and forcing us to act accordingly. That's why it is important to ask yourself before any major decision "If I feared not, what would I choose?" Do your best to avoid making decisions based on fear. We must take action and kick the enemy out! How to cast fear out is something we all must learn if we want to overcome this spirit. Therefore, once identified, we must take the right strength pills to resist it. Those pills are of course Bible verses that will be our sword in this battle and we'll have to meditate and let verses like these sink into our hearts: "The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident." Psalm 27:1-3. The only viable way to cast fear is to really, get close to God and start trusting Him. Our focusing on God will ultimately leave no room for fear in our hearts. David goes on to say in his Psalm that the only thing he's asking from the LORD is to dwell in His house and gaze on His beauty for the rest of his days. (Psalm 27:4 paraphrased) David had already experienced that by soaking into God's presence he will experience victory in all his challenges: "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock." Psalm 27:5 David did not reach this confidence level overnight; trust is only achieved after repeated experiences where God steps in and saves His servant, consequently this means having a relationship and not a mere visit to God in troubled times. Obviously, we should not expect to not have fear anymore if we keep insisting in the same way of life without being more and more filled with God's presence. The only powerful presence that will cast fear out is that of the Holy Spirit. God is faithful and He will do all He promised, so ask for Him and marinate in His presence and you'll see the mountains of fear disappearing. The more you keep your eyes on God, focusing on Him, the smaller fear becomes until it vanishes and you realize that with God on your side, there is NOTHING to fear!