“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18, ESV).
What do you fear?
Whether it’s death, pain,
loss, loneliness, shame or anything else, fear is not from God. Jesus
described Satan when He said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy” (John 10:10).
What have you allowed him
to steal from you? Your peace? Your confidence? The assurance that God loves
you? Yes, the enemy is active on this earth. But so is God. After
describing Satan’s plan of attack, Jesus spoke of His own plans: “I came
that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
If you’ve ever allowed dread
and anxiety to invade your thoughts, you know living in fear is the opposite of
living abundantly. God knew we would struggle with fear. From
Genesis to John, the words do not be afraid appear
again and again, often coming straight from the mouth of Jesus.
Jesus knew we’d encounter
fear—not just a healthy fear of God, but distracting, stifling, crippling fear.
He wants to help us conquer it because it’s not from Him.
First John 4:18 says, “There
is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with
punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
Jesus loves us unlike
anyone else—with a perfect love. A fearless love. If we focus on Him when we’re
afraid, we can be fearless too.
Fear has to do with
punishment, and Jesus put an end to the worst punishment of all when He died on
the cross. If we confess our sins and commit our lives to Him, our souls will
never die. We’ll never face the punishment our sins deserve.
When we’re no longer afraid
of death, other fears are put into perspective. But how can we tackle fear of
failure, rejection and so much more? King David figured it out. “I sought
the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears" (Ps.
43:4).
Don’t keep your secret
fears welled up inside. Seek the Lord. Tell Him your fear. Ask for His help,
and have faith that He’ll come through.
When you look to our great,
big God, everything else gets smaller. And remember that nothing—not life,
death or “anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:39).
By Billy Graham
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