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Part 10 of 12
Fear as a Spiritual Strategy
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God has many of us in a season where we must shift our perspective. Some are waiting for God to give something to them, while others are saying they're going to go get it. This is a critical distinction. When your faith is on point, your focus is on point, and your fights are sanctified, you're no longer fighting battles where you walk away empty-handed.
There are two types of fighters: street fighters who fight in alleys and backyards and win nothing, and prize fighters who get rewards for fighting. This year, people may think you're crazy because you're refusing to invest energy in things that don't align with your calling and assignment.
In Numbers 13:30, when the Israelites faced the prospect of taking the promised land, Caleb stood up and said, "Let's go at once. Take the land. We can certainly conquer it." But the other men who explored the land disagreed, saying, "We can't go up against them. They are stronger than we are."
They spread a bad report. While people were ready to take the next step, a few people started spreading fear that made the whole nation overcome with fear. Here's the critical difference: Caleb spoke from conviction and a promise, while the others spoke from comparison and the problem.
Too many of us spend too much time telling God about our problems instead of telling our problems about our God.
Insecurity distorts your vision, shrinks your identity, and causes you to forfeit opportunities you were graced for. This is not just about fear—it's about the silent saboteur within: the inner critic that keeps you playing small in rooms God called you to lead in.
You can be gifted, anointed, talented, favored, and even chosen by God and still feel like you're not worthy of the assignment He's giving you. The biggest bully in your life often isn't a person—it's the voice in your head telling you that you're not enough.
Insecurity makes you see things that aren't even there. It distorts your vision so badly that if someone says you look like somebody, you have to squint your eyes just to see the resemblance. What you believe about you determines what you'll do with what God gave you.
You were graced for the big thing you're believing God for. You don't need a class, a degree, or perfect preparation. When you flow in your grace instead of trying to operate under your own power, everything shifts.
Pastor Mike studied at Yale Divinity and behind many pastors, but there's no class that teaches you how to lead people when you don't fully know who you are as a person. There's no sermon you can write to manage preaching to twelve thousand people while being a present father and husband. There's no class for that—only grace.
If you've made it this far in life, often not even fully trying, half focused, and half committed, imagine what God can do with you now that you're locked in. That's how you know you're graced for it.
Fear will always exaggerate the obstacle to make you forget the opportunity. Fear takes something real and stretches it beyond reason until it looks impossible—not because it is, but because your faith lens has been fogged by fear fiction.
When people said, "It costs this much," fear doesn't just lie about it—it magnifies it. It stretches the reality based on proximity. You look around and say no one you know has ever done it with that amount of money. Because you haven't seen it done, you deem it impossible. But that doesn't mean it's impossible; it just means you haven't seen it yet.
If you're not careful, you'll let the sides of the obstacle make you forget the weight of your calling.
This is critical: Fear is not just an emotion. It's a spiritual strategy. When you realize this, it changes everything. Fear is used to paralyze your purpose, delay your destiny, and disconnect you from divine confidence.
If fear is a strategy, the next logical question is: whose strategy is it? Fear is the enemy's playbook. If he can't destroy you, he'll distract you. If he can't block you, he'll blind you. The enemy pulls out fear and uses it strategically against you.
Fear is not random. You didn't just get scared because something in you was worried—the devil sent it. Your relationship was good, you were getting along, and then suddenly fear creeps in: "I don't want to get hurt again." You've been coming to church, reading your Bible, praying more than ever, getting comfortable, and then out of nowhere: "I don't want to be alone. Who am I going to go on vacation with?" The devil is slick. He knows he can't stop you, so he sends something to make you stop yourself.
People keep falling for the devil's strategy because they're expecting him to look like something they were told about as children—a red suit, a long tail, a pitchfork, and horns. But that's not who he is.
John 8:44 calls him the father of lies. Revelation 12:10 calls him the accuser of the brethren. 1 Peter 5:8 says he's like a roaring lion. Here's what you need to understand: the devil has no real power. He has permission and persuasion.
He can't touch you unless he gets permission. In the book of Job, God says, "Have you considered my servant Job?" and the devil responds that he would kill him, but God has hedged his protection. So the devil says, "If you give me permission, I'll go get him." The devil uses fear to talk you out of what God already gave you.
"You belong to your father, the devil. And you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding the truth. And for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language. For he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44)
The enemy's native tongue is deception. Just as you speak English, French, Spanish, or Latin as native languages, his native language is deception. Whenever the devil comes into your life, he only knows how to speak lies.
Here's something profound: the devil doesn't just lie. He is a lie. Everything about him is deception. When Jesus calls him a liar, He's speaking to his character. This is different from saying someone told a lie. He is fundamentally and essentially a liar.
Every time fear, doubt, and shame speaks to you, it's echoing the voice of the devil. Don't let a liar shape your life.
Here's where it gets dangerous: when you're not tapped in spiritually, you can't discern whether the Holy Spirit is warning you to wait or doubt is telling you to wait. When you start leaning on what you feel without spiritual maturity, you don't realize that what you feel was sent by the enemy.
You think, "I was going to apply for that job, but something in me said no." But do you pray enough to know if it was the Holy Spirit? Do you tithe enough? Have you fasted in the last ten years? If not, almost everything you think you feel is nothing but the devil playing with and manipulating your emotions.
The devil doesn't work by saying loudly, "Don't do it." He's subtle. He whispers, "You sure you want to do this? You sure you want to get your hopes up again? I just don't want you to get hurt." And suddenly you're conversing with a liar. When you converse with a liar, they don't care who they tell it to. They'll argue black is white and white is black, and they're quick about it.
Then you take that lie home and perpetuate it: "Nobody in my family has had money. Nobody's marriage in my family is good. So you shouldn't even try because you'll just get hurt like they did." You're now spreading generational lies that shape destinies.
This is why your life is off. Put this in your notes: don't let a liar shape your life.
There are doors getting ready to open for you, and some of them you won't walk through. Not every open door is meant for you to enter. Sometimes God opens doors so you can see there's nothing back there, and He's saying, "Now get back to work."
When you know the difference in voice and character, you'll know who's speaking. This knowledge is critical for your alignment and your future.
I didn't want to tour. I wanted to. Not even because I wanted to sing—it was about the money. I come from nothing. I'm from Ensley, 1501 51st Street. We never had anything. When my lawyers called with a deal offering half a million dollars in thirty days, I was sitting there thinking, "Look at God."
I have two boys going to college next year, and Mace right after them. That's three tuitions in twenty-four months if God doesn't bless them with scholarships. I have a godson going to Alabama State. Financially, the numbers made sense.
But I knew the Holy Spirit told me not to do it. And let me be clear: I didn't recoup what I lost. I have to believe God just like you do. I'll be praying like, "All right now." The devil knew exactly what he needed to dangle in front of me. He knew my head was starting to hurt. He knew I have a private school that I don't like getting government funding for because I don't ever want them to tell me I can't talk about Jesus. He knew that out of all those schools, I'm personally paying half the tuition at times.
Just when I was sitting in the room thinking I might have to close the school, out of nowhere came potential to make that money. I would have left three weeks before Easter. The sermon "Just Jesus" wouldn't have happened. I would have been gone. I wouldn't have been able to come to Easter. Mace would have hurt his knee, and I would have had to talk to him over the phone instead of being in the doctor's office. Xander is going through his breakups and relationship stuff at eighteen, and it's hard. If I had been away, I wouldn't have been able to sit on the floor until he went to sleep.
There's not a dollar amount I would trade not to be standing here right now looking you in your face saying: if God did it for them, He'll do it for you, too. But you're so busy chasing stuff that you don't know whose voice you're listening to.
The devil is a liar. He doesn't just lie—he is a liar. He has no power. There is nothing the devil can do to you except what God gives him permission to do.
God is like that mama who takes you back to the fight and says, "Hey, now fight." You don't want to fight, but mama says, "You better fight them, or you're going to have to fight me." When you start fighting, that mama is standing there saying, "Yep. Yep. Yep." That's God. God is standing there saying you're scared of a devil that couldn't stop you if he wanted to.
Even when the devil tries to do stuff in your life, God is standing there saying, "It's cool. It's cool. They need this season. Let's go." But you're so scared that the liar has convinced you not to even come to the fight.
Here's how to tell the difference:
Jesus (Son of God):
The Devil (Father of lies):
The devil's strategy is trifling. He'll say, "I mean, you've had a long week. If I were you, I'd get lit today. Your body needs to feel good anyway, right? Just go and get right." You do it. Then immediately, the devil accuses: "You know you ain't going to church after what you just did." One mess-up, one sin, gets you missing two months of church. That's the game he plays.
Jesus says, "Do whatever you want to do in the garden." God gives freedom. The serpent, the enemy, comes and tempts. After he convinces Eve to convince Adam, God curses the snake—now he has to slither. And nowhere does the devil give the snake his feet back. He says, "You cost me my ability to stand, and then left me broken." The devil's sin will never fix itself.
This is critical: The Son of God sets you free. The father of lies keeps you bound.
Here's what the devil does: God tells you, "Michael, this is going to be the most blessed season of your life. Doors are opening. Overflow financially. Get ready to be everything I called you to be." Then the devil picks up the script and narrates it differently: "Doors are opening... let's be real now, doors are opening, and you're going to have everything."
He didn't change what God told you—he just narrated it differently. Have you ever sent a text and someone read it in a voice you didn't send it with? You text, "I don't feel like it." They respond, "What do you mean you don't feel like it? You never want to do anything." Then you call back and explain, "I wasn't saying I don't feel like it. I had a long week. I just don't feel like it." They say, "Well, you should have said that." But you did—the way you narrated it didn't match how they heard it.
You don't even realize you're not reading the Bible in His voice. You read, "Give and it shall be given back to you" like it's uncertain: "Give... and it's coming back?" No. God puts a period there: "Give. It shall be given back." Not a question mark.
"Turn the other cheek" isn't a suggestion—it's authority: "Turn the other cheek." "Be kind to those who despitefully use you"—that's a command, not a maybe. Voice inflection matters. The devil puts a question mark where God put a period.
Why does the devil use fear? Put this in your notes. Fear has four deadly effects:
This is why you don't step out on faith. You'd rather play safe.
Strategy One: Insecurity Before Opportunity
You're offered a platform or a leadership role. The enemy whispers: "You're not ready." His strategy? Make you focus on your flaws instead of God's favor.
My son Mason was playing basketball in tenth grade. He was killing it on JV—he was a creative player. They told him, "We're going to get you some varsity time on Friday." I said, "You're a dog. Just kill it. Do what you've been doing on JV." But he said, "Yeah, Dad, but I'm just a sophomore. Those are grown men now."
I walked into rooms and thought, "Oh, they're better than me." And they are. They sing better. I sit there waiting my turn, watching them, thinking, "My god." Then it's my turn. But I don't let it shake me. I don't play that game. They're not better than me—no, they are. They have something I don't have. But that doesn't mean I don't have what I have.
Strategy Two: Overthinking After a Word from God
God tells you to start a business or release a project. The enemy whispers: "What if it fails?" His strategy? Use fear of failure to keep you in false safety.
Let me free you: If you don't at least try and you stay safe, in six years when you see somebody else do it, you're going to be depressed anyway.
Don't let a liar shape your life. The son of God sets you free. The father of lies keeps you bound. When you know the difference in voice and character, you know who's speaking to you.
Fear is hell's marketing department. It can't change your future, so it tries to convince you to abandon it. Every lie you hear is a marketing strategy. Every piece of doubt you encounter is a marketing strategy.
Consider how this works in practice. You're talking to someone about something, then you go on social media and a commercial pops up for exactly what you were discussing. The devil listens just like Siri does. He's paying attention to what concerns you, and he's strategically placing doubt in your path.
But here's what you need to know: Faith is heaven's strategy. It only works if you move when it doesn't make sense.
In this season of your life, you're going to need two things: consistency and persistence.
Consistency means waking up and doing the same thing every day—praying, getting in your word, handling your business, maintaining your prayer life, being consistent in your giving, being consistent in how you talk to God.
Persistence is being consistent in the face of resistance. It means continuing to do these things through difficulty. When you're going through a breakup and don't feel like praying—be persistent. When weight is mounting on you and you don't feel like being nice—be persistent.
I've had to practice this on a whole other level. Thursday almost took me out. After an all-night session finishing an album until 1:2 in the morning, I got home and sat on the couch. Before I knew it, the boys hit me—they had 6:30 a.m. practice. I could have stayed in bed. My flesh wanted to. But my spirit said, "Be persistent." I got right back up. I was the only dad in the whole stadium at 6:30 in the morning watching them go through drills. Then a haircut at 8:00, a plane to Ohio at 9:00, preaching by 11:00, weather delays by 4:00, finally getting back with nothing left.
I sat there thinking, "God, surely my kids would have understood if I just stayed in bed." But here's the truth: I don't need anybody who's going to love me consistently without being persistent.
You can trust the wrong people with the right plan. God told Moses to send men to explore the land of Canaan, but Moses sent fearful people. They came back with a report of fear, and it contaminated the faith of the entire nation.
You will never make good decisions with bad information. Some of you didn't step out on faith not just because you had fear—you had people you trusted who were feeding you fear.
Communication with the wrong information is contamination. When people came to you being messy, making you doubt, coming at you with fear, they contaminated your spirit. It's almost the same as catching the flu—your faith got sick.
When the Israelites got to the land, they saw giants. They said, "The giants are there. They're going to kill us."
Giants represent resistance to your faith. Giants aren't sent to kill—they're sent to reveal. God sends giants in your life to reveal something. Giants are the tool God uses to separate the faithful from the fearful.
The Israelites said, "We seem like grasshoppers in our own eyes." And here's what's crazy—they said, "We look the same to them." But notice: they never asked the giants what they look like. Fear makes you project. They assumed the giants saw them as grasshoppers, but they never verified it.
They didn't lose the battle in Canaan. They lost the battle in their mind. That's where it matters most.
When I see my brother become syndicated all over the world on radio and in different platforms, I'm so proud of him. And I'm grateful he didn't lose the battle in his mind. It's hard sometimes to not lose the battle on the ground but to win the battle in your mind.
Fear distorts your identity, which means you have a defeated mentality. When you feel small, you start believing everybody sees you small.
I tried to give my album away. I inboxed it to every gospel artist. I never thought I'd be a gospel artist. I never thought I was good enough. The majority of the voices you hear on my songs are backgrounds because in my head, too much of my voice would make it bad. This project I'm working on now is probably the first where it's predominantly me singing because for the first time I'm like, "This is me."
You can be successful and still be afraid. Fear shrinks your self-perception. It makes you think small of yourself.
Insecurity represents how we see ourselves. Insecurity isn't about what you see when you look out—it's about what you see when you look in. It's not a reflection of your surroundings; it's a revelation of your self-perception.
I didn't feel good enough. This had nothing to do with my church telling me I was cool or my boys saying I was true. I never felt good enough in my entire life. 2025 is the first year of my life where I actually feel like something. That's a strong statement.
I have operated my whole life in insecurity. But maybe that was a good thing, because it drove me to pastor hard, to be the best husband, to try to be the best dad, to try to be the best artist. I couldn't sing well, so I tried my best to create the best. I never in my life felt good enough.
But here's what I know: insecurity is an internal misalignment that creates external hesitation. Until we address this—not the devil, who is far smaller than we make him—until we see ourselves right, we will always elevate him higher than us. Grandmama tried to tell you: he's under my feet.
The enemy attacks your identity to weaken your activity.
If insecurity represents what they saw, immaturity represents what they thought.
Spiritual maturity is the ability to trust that things are never too bad for God to do something good. We overcome immaturity when we learn to make good decisions even in bad situations.
This represents what they said. They reacted with their feelings, not their faith.
Impulsiveness is when you immediately react with your feelings, not your faith. Impulsiveness is when we consistently rush into quick decisions over quality decisions. People say, "I need to go ahead and do this. Why? I don't want nobody else to beat me to it." Then let them beat you. The goal isn't to get there first all the time. Sometimes get there healthy.
I was 27 years old. Church was blowing up. All my friends were on national TV. But my pastor kept telling me I wasn't ready. For 10 years, he told me: love God, love your family, love your city—the world will come looking for you. I did nothing but Rock City Church. I was a myth in certain circles—this young dude in Birmingham who could fill an arena, but nobody knew about him. I'm so grateful I was obedient. I'm so grateful I wasn't trying to get somewhere fast that would have crashed me.
Here's what I want you to understand: the ability to accomplish what God called you is found in the calling itself. The moment He said it was yours, whatever is there becomes unto you. If it's giants, if it's yours, you're a giant killer. If it's no housing, you're a contractor.
The danger of letting fear interpret your identity is that it reduces what God enlarged.
We need to stop making the devil bigger than he is. He's so small-minded that he got kicked out of heaven and came to earth. He couldn't even run anything here. Why? Because God made you in Genesis and said, "Have dominion." But until we see ourselves right, we will always elevate him higher than us.
