Fear of the Dark
Am I ready for the deliverance ministry?
Does this have anything to do with
being in a Deliverance Ministry?
What is the difference between the emotion
of fear and the feeling of fear?
The emotions of fear are
pure physical signals of the body (flight-flight-or
freeze) that warn us of some kind of danger.[1] Feelings of fear arise as the
brain decodes and makes sense of our fearful emotions. For instance, if we see
a snake, our emotion of fear reacts without
thinking about it and then our rational brain analyses it and (as in this
example) we see it’s only one of those fake rubber ones. The next step
is our will making a choice to
not be afraid.
When we allow our emotions
to dominate us, we do things without thinking of the consequences and
regret it later. This is where faith, trust, courage and standing in your
authority as a child of God, come in. When we
become distracted and choose to take our focus off of Jesus, like Peter when
walking on the water, we sink back into our rational way of thinking.
So, as we walk in the dark
at 03:00 in the morning, our emotions are signaled by the possibility of danger
lurking in the unseen darkness. Therefore, our mind starts rationalizing,
bringing up past memories and since we have no control over the situation, we
choose to rely on our human reason, rather than our trust in God, and we become
afraid. (Emotion – feeling – choice)
For God has not given us the spirit of
fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
I can’t be the only one that ever thought of using the typical
childhood terror: ‘fear of the dark’ as a test to see if someone is ready
or not to work in the deliverance ministry?
One new disciple in the ministry told me: “I started last night by
just putting my foot outside the bed covers!” Good start! What about leaving a closet door open? Or
just put your foot on the floor, for the count of 10, and see if the bogeyman[2] will
grab your leg!
This got me thinking why many of us have this ‘anxiety from the dark’,
even when we believe very well that “faith in
God dispels all fear!” Do I really trust God in everything and
in every situation?
I also know that ‘I cannot
have authority over someone I fear’. And Satan’s power over me is determined by
the fear I give him. Do I really
believe Psalm 91:5 “You
will not fear the terror of night, nor
the arrow that flies by day?”
If you are working in a deliverance ministry
and are afraid of the dark, you should ask to have ministry for yourself, to
find out why and where the root
cause is originating from.
The foundation of all
types of fear is simply the fear of
losing control. And the fear of the dark is no different. You are not
in control, when you can’t see what’s hiding in the shadows. Then, there is
judgemental fear of going to hell, walking along the top of a cliff, whoops, no
control there. Fear of losing someone you love, fear of death or fear of
loneliness. And what about Fear of the Lord? “This is a gift that fills
us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread, above
all things, to offend Him.”
Is this also laying on the foundation of the fear of losing control? Or is it
just giving to God the control over our lives, totally trusting Him in
everything, as we rest in Christ Jesus and receive the victory. Heavenly
Father, I know: “The battle is Yours and
the victory is mine.” 2 Chronicles
20:15 Jesus said: “I am in my Father, and that you are in Me, just as I am
in you.” John 14:20b Yes, absolutely no fear there. So, why
should we be afraid of the dark?
Fear is the root cause
for us to need to be in control.
“Nyctophobia is a phobia characterized
by a severe fear of the dark.
It is triggered by the brain’s disfigured perception of what would or could
happen when in a dark environment. It can also be temporarily triggered if the
mind is unsteady or scared about recent events or ideas, or a partaking in
content the brain considers a threat (examples could include indulging in
horror content, witnessing vulgar actions, or having linked dark environments
to prior events or ideas that disturb the mind). Normally, since humans are not
nocturnal by nature, humans are usually a bit more cautious or alert at night
than in the day, since the dark is a vastly different environment.”[3]
I was afraid of the dark
as a child and also as a young adult. I grew-up in North Long Beach,
California, and as a kid, in the late ‘50s, I learned to “show no fear”, even though you are shaking in your shoes, when
confronted by bigger boys who’s only interest in life was to fight and beat-up
on littler kids.
Later, when our first two
children were born, we lived in San Francisco. After being Baptized in the
Spirit in 1971, I realized that it wasn’t good to be afraid, not even of the dark.
I would always get rid of my
fears by just facing them, going a little further each time, until I became so
familiar with whatever it was, that I wasn’t afraid anymore. (Face your
fears). This is a natural thing that we
all do without even thinking about it. Going to the dentist anyone?
Where
does the fear of darkness come from?
Parents and children may
pass-on fear in others through their own fears. I think mine came from
older children who passed along “that scary something” under the bed or in the
dark closet. I remember when I was five years old, we lived in the Navy housing
above San Pedro. On the side of the apartments was a crawl hole for maintenance
purposes. Kids would throw little toys in the hole and tell stories to one
another of “the monster” living underneath the building.
I remember sitting there,
by myself for a long time, just looking at the little toys that were almost in
my reach, if I just could get down there. So, finally I did and surprise, no
monster attacked me and my “spoils of war” were all the little toys to play
with.
With fear, there is a lack
of knowledge and understanding of nature and in some people, more than others,
have a very vivid imagination. TV,
movies, computer games, etc. also contribute to fear of the dark.
Familiar spirits such as
the spirit of fear may have been passed down from one generation to the
next. The individual may have directly opened the door to spirits of fear through dabbing with
magick (not misspelled [black magick] ) or the occult, as playing with a
Ouija Board or other seemingly innocent games.
We lived in one of those
typical old San Francisco houses you see in pictures. We had this very long,
and I do mean l-o-n-g hall that went
from the bedroom in the back of the house, all the way to the front door,
bypassing every other room in between. (I also didn’t mention that [“they”
said] we had a resident ghost named George, also dwelling in the flat.) Well,
to practice not being afraid of the dark, I would force myself to leave the
lights off, when going to the toilet at night, which was over half way to the
front door. All the houses were built out of wood because of the earth quakes
that would rumble through, from time to time. The bedroom door would squeak,
the wooden floors would make a cracking sound as you passed the wall heater on
the right, the bathroom on the left, then the light-well, the kitchen door on
the right and then, on the left, the toilet. I was doing pretty good until the
movie “The Exorcist” came out in 1973. And another thing, the Satanic Church also had their world headquarters
in the city.
Any kind of trauma or
distressing event related with darkness can be a strong reason for people,
especially children, to develop fear of the dark. For instance, if a child has
been regularly punished by being locking
up in a dark closet will add to the possibilities of developing a fear of
darkness. Similarly, there can be other traumatic
incidents that occurred during night time such as abuse, violence in the home or getting lost. Such experiences implant traumatic memories which are neurologically
attached to the emotional experience, indicating that darkness is dangerous.
When working at night in
the city, I learned the trick, when confronted by a possible harmful situation,
was to do something funny. I would just start talking like Donald Duck “Hi how
’ya doin’.” It changed the atmosphere
from scary to funny. Also, in deliverance situations with people, I learned
that just by making a funny remark, would break the atmosphere that the demon was
trying to create. Fear is his power. No fear, no power.
Our anxiety is magnified
by the more we anticipate the unknown
in the darkness, the more it turns into terror and panic in the end.
And the enemy is well aware of this fact.
Fear of the dark has also
been associated with the evolution of mankind. In early periods, people used to
go hunting at night time and face wild beasts. Darkness was considered a dwelling
place of evil, monsters and paranormal happenings.
We shouldn’t get too familiar with the power of
darkness: In the Southern part of The Netherlands, I visited an exorcist friend
of mine who told me a story where he experienced 3 spheres of light that floated through his hermitage and were slowly
dancing and moving up the wall. And when he started to be entertained by this unique demonic phenomenon, suddenly this
satanic claw ripped across his chest, which gave him the scare of his life! The
moral of his story, as he said to me: “Ted, never be entertained by the manifestations of the devil.”
Another recent story: This
is sort of a weird one: This one young woman, who was under the influence and control
of demons and talking to them, told me that she became comfortable in their presence and when one demon insisted that she call
him by his name “shadow man”, she refused and instead she called him “rainbow (blank)”,
which to her surprise, stopped the demon from pestering her.
In another situation,
there was this very holy woman in Italy who was being tormented by demons;
Jesus taught her to just ‘make fun of
them’. So, when the demons were growling and saying awful things to her,
she would say things to them like: “is
that the best you can do?” And she just stopped giving them attention and
told them how ridiculous they sounded.
When a person experiences severe fear, it opens a window into the
body, (the subconscious). One such example of a very traumatic experience is a car accident or while the person is
in a very fearful emotional state, such as physical or sexual abuse. That is
why most people who are sexually
molested as children have demonic problems throughout their lives,
even though it was not their fault.
During
a severe fear attack, the body releases a hormone called Epinephrine, commonly associated with the emotion of extreme fear, that triggers the demonic dimension. They say that evil spirits are attracted to the smell of fear
and therefore take the opportunity to enter into the dissociative state of the
person.
(Note: With severe trauma: the amygdala in the brain freaks out and
instead of sending the information into memory [hippocampus] it sends it into
the subconscious.)
I did overcome my fear of
the dark, but it wasn’t in San Francisco. What I finally realized was that everyone
should be afraid of me! I am filled
with the Holy Spirit and have a multitude of angels around me. The devil should see me and run! It’s
all about knowing your God-given authority, not just in your head but in your
whole body, soul and spirit!
I
am covered by the Blood of Christ who lives in me and I live in Him! (John 14:20b)
My identity: a beloved child of the Living God. We are
called to know our authority at the right time and in the right place by living
in an intimate relationship with Him. “A genuine encounter with the reality of His presence.”[4]
When you are doing
deliverance on a young woman in church, after a worship evening and she falls
to the ground starts manifesting by slithering like a snake under your feet and
looks up at you, with a slightly contorted face and says, in a deep rough
voice: “I’m not leaving her”. And then your two uninvited helpers start yelling at her saying: “Get out! In
the name of Jesus!!” And she takes off running through the church! Oh, oh. (A
true story that ended well). When you are afraid of the demon, you will always
respond in an aggressive fearful manor
instead as an authoritative controlled peaceful minister.
A good way to test your
trust in God and to confront any fears, is to walk in the Light and stroll in the shadows of the dark.
Prayer:
“Heavenly Father, send
Your fiery angels to surround me and fight any demons attacking me. Jesus,
cover me with your precious Blood. Holy Spirit, fill me with your Power and
surround me with your Shield of Light. And may my heart beat with the heart
of the Father.” I
fear not for You are with me; I am not afraid for You are my God; You strengthen me; and help me; You uphold me with Your right
hand of righteousness. Amen! House of Healing Den Bosch 01072018TMB
[1] The emotion of fear translates into a feeling of fear when the amygdala (and other parts) in the brain, interprets
the emotion and sends it to the hippocampus to be stored in memory.
[2] The word bogey is
believed to be derived from the Middle
English bogge / bugge ("hobgoblin") and is generally thought to be a cognate of
the German bögge, böggel-mann (American
"Boogeyman") and Dutch boeman.
[4] “Holy
Spirit” pg.153 Michael Koulianos
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