There is no fear in love.
But perfect love drives out fear,
because fear has to do with punishment.
The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18
God is Love.
And that's the great thing.
It's so promising and hopeful. Yet, we can't seem to fully understand it and let it sink into our heart. We have all these questions. For example, How do we avoid fear? How do we trust God in the middle of fear? How do we overcome fear? It's impossible, we say.
But the truth is, we aren't really searching how to counteract fear. And yes it is a serious weakness, mentally and spiritually. We try to look for ways to avoid fear and all the things that trigger it in our life.
But we are missing a very valuable point: We may not know God as well as we thought.
When we truly know God and have a deep relationship with Him, his love makes us whole. We don't have room for weaknesses that might of been stumbling blocks before. Suddenly his love consumes us and we feel like we are on top of the world. Like we're empowered. Undefeatable. A winner.
We're trying to counteract something without the antidote.
It's hard to explain what it's like to feel the true love of God when it consumes you, if you haven't experienced it before. You don't know that moment of dawning realization that comes and you just sit in awe for a moment, lingering. But let me tell you, when it hits you, it hits hard. And every time you think of it, it's as if hearing it for the first time.
God's love impacts.
We are made to be loved. To have an undeniably strong response to it. So how do we understand let alone deal with fear? We must first go on an adventure of digging deeper into who our creator is. It's not about the questions in discovering to rid yourself of that awful feeling that comes over us and chills run up our spine. It's about trusting God's Word as it reveals to us his perfect Love. (Which, is Him) So Love, is the antidote. Until you know that the problem is not overcoming fear by yourself, or overcoming it at all, you will never find the antidote.
Once you get to know God, he takes you on the journey of your life. It's deep, adventurous, intimate, and perfect. You will crave it. Desire it like nothing you ever have before. And it lasts, that's the great news. It never gets old. Fear may not just disappear. It may take a while to get used to the idea that saturating yourself with God's perfect love cleanses you of anything weak the devil could use against you.
But here's the next biggest thing: We must learn to trust God's Love.
And that only happens when we spend time in his Word getting to know him, and learning to love him back. We have to believe that our creator will never let us down or forsake us. Only then can we fall into his overflowing Love that casts out all fear. Not trusting is fear itself. So what do you have to lose? Do you believe in a God who keeps his promises?
So is Love calling you?
