Proverbs 18.10
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”
1 John 5:3-5
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Proverbs says that the Lord is our “strong tower.” First John teaches the same truth; it says that it is through our relationship with God that we “overcome the world.”
The First John passage is intriguing because the Greek word used for “overcome” is the word nike, which you will recognize as the name of the famous shoe company. In Greek mythology, Nike was also the name of the goddess of victory. John uses the word nike four times in this brief passage, either in its noun form (nike = victory) or its verb form (nikao = overcome). The message is that our strength — the source of our victory over the world — is trusting in Jesus.
John is talking to Christians about the application of faith to the situations we face as we live and work in the midst of the world. Living the Christian life in the midst of a fallen world is a battle. The primary battle that we must fight and win is in the mind. The enemy seeks to attack our mind with fear. The Lord seeks to empower our mind with faith.
Fear distorts, distracts, and debilitates. It makes you weaker. Fear forgets about God and fixates on problems and perceived threats. Fear doesn’t trust; it worries.
Faith clarifies and empowers. It makes you stronger. Faith operates by vision, not by circumstance. The mind of faith focuses on God’s presence, power, and principles. And it prays. Let’s consider each of those areas of focus:
Faith focuses on God’s presence. “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 20.1)
Faith focuses on God’s power. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12.2)
Faith focuses on God’s principles. “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” (Psalm 119.15-16)
Faith focuses on prayer. “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34.4). “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5.6-7)
May we defeat fear by cultivating a mind of faith that focuses on God’s presence, power, and principles, and that prays continuously and boldly.
