Intimidation is a type of fearfulness in which we are frightened into submission or made to feel a sense of inferiority to another.
This is a devilish emotion and it is not of God at all. The book of 2 Timothy 1:7 says “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and of a sound mind”, the total opposite of an intimidated spirit. So you see when we are intimidated, it is a scheme of the devil and not of God.
When intimidated, we tend to hide or run away and it causes us to run in the opposite direction of our destiny or calling. You might never reach your maximum potential in life if you accept to be intimidated and run away. Many times we just yield to this false truth of ourselves without realizing it because we feel that it is our only choice. NO! It is not. God has made better choices available for us and that’s what we should choose.
Intimidation is one of Satan’s “go to” weapons because it either paralysis you or causes you to retreat, hence making you ineffective for God’s purpose in your life. There are various ways by which we get intimidated but the effects are same. It makes us distracted, either frozen in place or having a strong feeling of fear or the need to just shy away, hide or run.
There is however a fine line between intimidation and correction. At times because of our own insecurities or too much exposure to feelings and situations of intimidation, we are unable to differentiate whether we are being corrected or intimidated. This makes us to either resist or refuse positive correction given in love. We need to always be alert in our spirit and ask God to help us distinguish both and enable us react appropriately.
On the flip side, let us make sure we are not agents of intimidation to others in our words, reactions and actions. Do not use your privileged position to be a source of intimidation to others. Instead, encourage and nurture.
Recalling what Timothy says, we have been given a spirit of power, Love and a sound mind. Let not the devil lure you into believing and accepting less of you. Rather, come to the full awareness of who you are in Christ, live and move in that awareness and may your boldness and stability in Christ cause the evil emotions of intimidation flee from you.