The 3 Spirits of 1 Samuel 16 (Part 2)

(2) The second spirit mentioned is the Spirit of Fear.

Verses 2, 3 "And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee."

This passage ought to show us that even mighty men of God have weak moments. The first thing that came to Samuel's mind was if Saul finds out about this I'm a dead man. Because of that spirit of mourning that had attached itself to him, all he could think about was losing his life and not the future of his nation.

Even today a sudden tragic event shatters our sense of order and thrusts us into a world forever changed. Survivors of sudden loss may experience a greater sense of vulnerability and heightened anxiety. The safe world we once knew, no longer exists. We fear for ourselves, our family and friends. Survivors can become overwhelmingly preoccupied with thoughts that such a random act of violence might happen again.

Samuel was no doubt blaming himself for the failure of Saul putting himself in that, "Why couldn't it have been me" category.  This opened up the door for the spirit of fear to come upon him when God told him to go to Jesse's house and anoint a new king. He begin to think about what might happen to him if he got caught by Saul.

 Remember these things about fear:

-Fear causes us to worry about things that don't exist.

-Fear keeps you from taking action for our present or our future.
-Fear tells you to keep your mouth closed when you should be praising God.
-Fear keeps you from growing spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.
-Fear shortens your life, creates health problems, and causes your mind to shut down.
-Fear makes you lazy and dependent upon sorrows and troubles from your past.
-Fear keeps you from capitalizing on the opportunity  to change and do something different about your situation.

In all seriousness, not learning how to conquer your fears will keep you from living a great life. So hear the words of the Lord:

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

 Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"