I have found that many times the devil can trick us out of some really beautiful experiences in our lives whenever we allow ourselves to fall into intimidation.
We have all, at some time or other in our lives, experienced its subtle onslaught, felt its deadly grip, and fallen helplessly under its devilish emotions. But did we always know what it was or how its consequences could alter our course and permanently change our destiny if we allowed it to continue to control our lives?  No, we didn’t know. Therefore, many times we did nothing about it except yield to it.

I’m talking about intimidation.

There have been countless individuals who were born and have died, who, in their lifetime, experienced very little (if any at all) of the wonderful destiny God had prepared for them. If you tracked each of their lives, you would find that most of them failed to reach their potential in God because of one ingredient: Fear.

Fear is the only real weapon satan has against a believer. If he can get you to fear, he can control you. But if you will resist him, resist fear, he has to flee.

There is something we must pay diligent attention to: fear won’t always take on the same form. The Word tells us that satan is the father of lies – he is a deceiver. He will try as much as he can to even deceive us as to what is fear and what is not.

Since fear also manifests in the form of worry, grief, and, yes, intimidation – it is vitally important to keep our hearts alert and sensitive to the Holy Spirit, so that He can identify to us in each situation whenever we are about to yield to some kind of fear.

It is necessary to stay free from fear in our lives. Because intimidation is often so subtle, it often requires a little more discernment to detect it at work. By staying full of the Word of God, especially what the Word says about how much God loves you, you will at the same time be pushing back the forces of fear in your life.

First John 4.18 says, “There is no fear in love (God’s love for us), but perfect (growing, maturing) love casts out all fear, because fear has torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

Fear and love cannot co-exist. There is no fear in love. That means that there also is no intimidation in a heart that is completely convinced that God loves them with all His Heart and will not in any way fail or abandon them in any situation.

If you are convinced and confident that God is good and only good, and that He loves you with an eternal, unconditional love – you will not be intimidated by anything.

In careful observance of the things God has taught me over the years and applying them to my own heart and emotions, I have found that many times the devil can trick us out of some really beautiful experiences in our lives – even in the midst of seeming disaster – whenever we allow ourselves to fall into intimidation.

Many years ago, the Lord opened my understanding to these truths when a devastating experience occurred in my life. In the wake of that situation, I began to notice myself withdrawing emotionally from within. In an effort to “protect” my soul from further hurt (or so I thought), my initial reaction was to try to disconnect myself from any place or any one that to me was somehow connected to this experience. Before I could go very far toward this endeavour (even in my heart and mind), the Lord stopped me.

He began to lovingly explain to me that when we try to “protect” ourselves in this manner, we actually open ourselves up for the devil to hurt us further. If we were to continue this method of self “protection”, eventually satan would be able to keep us out of anywhere and everywhere – we would be under his control through fear. The Lord explained that this is how intimidation works. For me, I didn’t even know it was intimidation I was dealing with!  But the truth set me free.