LOVE DRIVES OUT FEAR
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love.
1 John 4:18 (NLT)
I might believe God has all power, but is that power really for me? I’ll believe His power is available to me if I believe God really loves me. 2 Timothy says that God has not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of love. He has put His Spirit in us so that we may know His love for us. Why would you trust someone? Because you believe they have your best interest in mind, because you believe they love you.
What would it take for you to believe that I really love you? What if I gave you all my stuff? All my money, my home, my car, my clothes, my food—would you believe I loved you?
What if I gave you myself—what if I was available to you 24 hours a day, taking care of every request? What if I was like your own personal Secret Service agent, willing to take a bullet for you? What if I had your back? Would you believe that I loved you?
What if I even gave my wife and children to you to be placed in your service, even to die for you? Would you believe that I loved you? Would you trust me then?
It’s one thing to accept with our minds that God did that for us, that He provides what we need, that He promises to be with us 24/7, and that He actually sacrificed His only Son so that we could be with Him forever so that we could experience how much He loves us. We might believe that God loves some people that much, but do we really grasp, do we really feel that God loves us that much?
My fear is evidence that I have not fully grasped the depths of God’s love for me and that I have a need to experience His love even more.
I realize I don’t fully grasp how much God loves me. But I have received a taste of God’s love, and that is what began my journey of trusting Him and my journey of transformation.
When we experience the love of Jesus, it transforms us—our perspective changes. Our fear decreases.
APPLICATION: List the reasons to believe that God really loves you.
PRAYER: Father, thank You for loving me. Bring to my mind the ways that You show Your love for me.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?