Ds and Fs Won’t Do explores the concepts of four Ds (DISTRACTION, DOUBT, DISCOURAGEMENT, and DEPRESSION) and three Fs (FRUSTRATION, FAILURE, and FEAR). It follows a systematic structure based on the idea that we are more than our negative experiences and that failure does not define us. By drawing on timeless teachings from Scripture, Dr. Downer presents a compelling narrative of deliverance and hope for those struggling with the deceptions and lies of Satan. In addition to revealing the enemy's tactics, she offers practical tools to aid in the journey towards healing and freedom. This book promises to provide a transformative spiritual and emotional experience.
The book delves into the major challenges that are universal in our lives, tackling significant obstacles that everyone encounters. Doubt, Distraction, Discouragement, Depression, Frustration, Failure, and Fear are all addressed in practical and meaningful manners, providing concrete and digestible ways to utilize the Word of God as a powerful weapon against them. The goal of the book is not only to identify these issues but also to empower readers with effective strategies to conquer them.
I find the chapters on Fear to be particularly captivating as fear is a common struggle for many individuals. I am genuinely enthusiastic about the profound impact these chapters will have on people's lives. Fear has the ability to strip away one's purpose and hinder their potential, and that is why I am thrilled to offer guidance through these chapters. The ultimate objective is to assist readers in achieving emotional wholeness, and the prospect of that is truly exhilarating.
Excerpt from chapter 15. FEAR: THE PAPA DEMON
FEAR IS A THIEF
Satan, the father of fear is a thief; therefore, fear, being an offspring of its father, is naturally a thief. Fear will rob you of your spiritual inheritance as an heir and joint heir with Jesus Christ. Fear will stop you from doing what the Father wants you to do and from receiving what the Father has for you. Fear will steal your freedom, your peace, your hope and expectations, your time, your motivation, and your focus. Fear will take so much from you that it immobilizes you. It will stop you from accomplishing anything.
Fear will keep you from taking risks. It will keep you from trying new things and from trusting the God in you who has already empowered you to do what He has assigned to you. Fear will even keep you from obeying God and growing in Him. It will keep you from enjoying life.
Once, while at the orthodontist, I saw a woman in the waiting room with three young children. The Holy Spirit directed me to go over and minister to the woman. I hesitated and bargained with the Father, saying if I saw her in the lobby of the building when I left the office, I would talk to her. Well, after seeing the orthodontist and I got off the elevator in the lobby, there was the woman with her three children. My heart started pounding in my chest, and I walked right past her to my car.
Fear stopped me from trusting the God in me to do what He told me to do. I’ve grown quite a bit in the Lord since then, so I would readily obey the Holy Spirit today. But fear not only robbed me that day it also robbed the woman. The Holy Spirit would not have directed me to minister to the woman if He did not see a need and wanted to use me to fill that need. I was robbed because my faith and spiritual giftings will only grow when I exercise them, and I did not exercise them that day. Fear restrained me that day, so I did not have the opportunity to grow from the experience that would have encouraged me and given me the boldness to obey the Lord more readily next time.
I’ve mentored several young believers and almost always, my focus is to instill in them the discipline of personal prayer and devotions as well as confidence in praying publicly—for example to open or close a service or gathering or to pray for and with another individual. The area that I see the most fear is in praying in public. These loved ones always doubt themselves and overthink the task, yet when they pray publicly, they do well.
We know that the more we do something, the more proficient we become in that thing. If these loved ones let fear stand between them and praying publicly, they will never grow in that area and the contributions they could make to others and the ministry will not be to the fullest. This is one of the many ways that fear sneakily steals from us.
Fear’s natural companions are worry and anxiety, and these two spiritual parasites are slow killers. They slowly deplete your joy which is your strength, so in essence, they make you weak. Worry and anxiety are antonyms for peace and contentment. Fear is indeed a thief and a killer.
FEAR IS A LIAR
The Word of God tells us that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). God’s love is perfect, unconditional, relentless, and complete. He loves you more than you can ever imagine or understand. You will close all openings to fear when you know and accept this fact. By basking in the love of God for you, you will embrace the truth of the Word of God about you and your circumstances, and that truth will shield you from fear.
Nonetheless, Satan, being the all-time liar that he is, will try to lie to you by highlighting your flaws and failures and will try to convince you that God does not love you and God does not care about you. He will even tell you that God does not hear your prayers and that God will not answer your prayers. The most frequent lie he tells is that God doesn’t forgive you even when you asked Him for forgiveness. He tries to keep you tied to your past and make you think you’ve gone too far for God to forgive you. Even those who are saved, he tries to convince them that they are not saved.
All these are attempts to make you doubt the love of God. They are his attempts to make the love of God appear imperfect to you. If you doubt or mitigate the love of God, you will then make room for fear. Fear cannot touch you if you understand and believe that the love of God is perfect and complete. The devil knows that, so his recourse is to lie to you about the God who loves you beyond measure.
There is no truth in the Devil. He is the father of lies (John 8:44). Every word that comes out of his mouth is a lie. Lying is his nature. Even when he quotes Scriptures, he lies. Yes, the Word of God is truth, but Satan uses Scripture for his own destructive purposes, and therefore, whatever he says is a lie. He is the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9). When we are told any lie, it is of Satan. He lies to us because he is trying to dishearten us, and unwarranted fear is one of his tools.
Fear is also a deceiver; it’s a cheater and a swindler. It tricks you to make you think there is a threat when there is no threat. Fear also makes you feel issues are worse than they really are. Sometimes the fear you experience is worse than the very thing you are fearful about. In truth, fear makes you believe the unreal to be real. I’ve seen it said that the meaning of FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real, and I agree. By making the false look real, fear will shift your focus from the positive and constructive to the negative and destructive and from what’s actually happening to a worsening situation or outcome that you have conjured up in your mind.
Fear closes the door to peace and contentment and offers anxiety and worry. With worry and anxiety, many will never step into the blessings that the Father has for them. Worry and anxiety will overwhelm you with concerns about what might or will not work and will inhibit you from taking the needed step forward. We never know what will happen tomorrow, and we never know what other people are thinking. But those who fall prey to fear are often trying to predict and control what others are thinking and what will happen tomorrow—things they do not know and cannot control. The ill-fated attempt to control these things gives way to the lies of the enemy about the things that concern them, and in fear, they believe them. Fear will then drill those lies into their mind, and that heightens the fear even more. It’s a vicious cycle.
The enemy lies to a person who is facing a challenge by telling them that God has forgotten them or that God does not love them. These lies directly contradict the promises of God. Psalm 115:12a says, “The Lord remembers us and will bless us.” In Isaiah 49:15, the Word says He will not forget us, and in Deuteronomy 31:8 He says, He will never abandon you. There are a host of scriptures that give us the assurance that our God will never forget or leave us. God wants you to have a life of peace and contentment here on earth, but fear, being the liar that it is, can steal the life out of your life.
Many people never live up to their full capabilities because of fear. Some never enjoy healthy relationships with people whose lives they could enrich and whose lives could enrich their own significantly. The lies of fear can lead to a substandard life that is marked by instability, unhappiness, and a lack of contentment. Fear saps spiritual vitality, and it can cause spiritual, emotional, and even physical paralysis.
Fear demands emotional energy that is poorly invested in something that often never happens. In Matthew 6, Jesus instructed His disciples to not be excessively anxious about providing for their basic needs. In other words, they were advised not to worry about how their needs will be met. Verse 33 admonishes us to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first and then all these things—food, clothing, and shelter—will be added unto us. When we live with fear—worry and anxiety—we spend a whole lot of emotional energy but reap no rewards.
FEAR HATH TORMENT
The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7 (AMP), “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].” Fear is a spirit sent by Satan, but power, love, and a sound mind come from the Spirit of God. The spirit of fear is sent to torment you and the spirit of power and love is sent by God to give you peace.
There is no peace in torment, and there is no torment in peace. So, you see, Satan’s aim is to offer you the very opposite of what your Heavenly Father has for you. Satan is offering you fear and torment. But instead of fear, God is offering you peace that will be expressed in the form of love and a sound mind.
The carriers of the torment, which comes with fear, are worry and anxiety. We worry and become anxious when we don’t know for sure what will happen next, and instead of entrusting the matter to God, we concoct the outcomes ourselves. Naturally, in the absence of trust in God, whatever outcomes we anticipate are inherently bad, and the anticipated negative outcomes in turn cause more worry, hence the torment.
Worry is tormenting because you anticipate the worst, and you want to remedy the matter, but you can’t. Therefore, you feel defenseless and powerless. You’re doing all you can—usually in your mind—to control the perceived impending bad outcome, but it is out of your control, and you are troubled by that fact. You are tormented.
When people worry about a situation, they play and replay their negative predictions about the situation in their mind. That alone is torment, because as they live and relive the perceived negative outcomes, they are repeatedly faced with an issue that is entirely out of their hands. Truthfully, due to their degree of concern about the matter, if the matter was under their control, they would have done something about it. But although the situation that concerns them is not in their control, they continue to think upon it and anticipate the worst. This is the formula for increased worry and anxiety, and the result is torment.
Out of fear, people may go to great lengths to gain certainty about an unknown situation but find no answer. Some will try to be certain about their future, even if it costs them personally, but to no avail. That is torment. Job was overcome by fear concerning his children, and ultimately, the very thing he feared happened to him. Job in Job 3:25−26 (NIV, emphasis added) said, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” Job was tormented. He had no peace, no quietness, no rest…only turmoil, instability, and confusion. This is what the presence of fear and the absence of God’s perfect love looks like—torment, anguish, pain, suffering, instability, and confusion. Worry is torment. Anxiety is torment.
Torment is a weapon Satan uses to cause you to think that God is not going to help you. But I am encouraging you to firmly push back. Do not accommodate fear. You mitigate your faith in God when you let fear in. You cannot walk in fear and, at the same time, be spiritually, interpersonally, or emotionally healthy. Fear comes with torment, and torment will kill your peace. Torment comes with unrest, helplessness, and turmoil. You must choose faith and trust in God over fear.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: SEVEN MAIN TAKEAWAYS
1. We fear the unknown because we fail to trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding.
2. Fear is a thief.
3. Fear will keep you from taking risks.
4. Fear is a liar.
5. Fear closes the door to peace and contentment and offers anxiety and worry.
6. Fear demands emotional energy that is poorly invested in something that often never happens.
7. Fear is torment.