Fear and shame are two of the biggest weapons of the devil, from the garden of Eden to this present day. Those two evil feelings are a direct result of sin in a person's life and can be inherited while still in the womb! If your mother is full of fear and shame, it can be passed on to the fetus even before the child is born. That is how generational curses are perpetuated in a family and only the power of God's grace and Spirit can liberate a soul from that heavy oppression.
When Adam and Eve sinned, immediately evil entered them and they became afraid of God instead of loving God and desiring His presence and fellowship. They became ashamed of who they were and how God made them, they saw that they were naked and hid themselves from their Creator. Fear can cripple and paralyze whole neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries! I write from experience on that because fear kept me from doing so many good things in life, for myself and others.
As a Christian, fear will keep you from speaking the truth in love, to other believers and unbelievers alike! Instead of standing up for the truth of God's word, Christians who are filled with fear, will run from confrontation, they will compromise their faith and even deny Jesus and His word. Peter was tested just like that and we know he denied Jesus three times, because he was really afraid of death, but he had spoken the exact opposite to Jesus.
Matthew 26:35
"Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples."
If your heart and mind is full of fear and shame, then you are not prepared to face death for Jesus, or to stand up for the truth. But it's not too late to prepare yourself! Because Jesus said clearly that one day all the nations will hate Christians for His name sake.
