Fearless!

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  We love Him because He first loved us.  If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

1 John 4: 18-20 NKJV 

There are some who say that fear is debilitating, at times paralyzing.  With this I agree, if we allow it to be.  For there have been more than a few fears of my own that have, over time, ended up controlling me in certain situations.  However, as humans we are at times led to analyze our own behaviors and that of those around us.  So, following this path I ask, just what is fear?  Is fear not simply our projecting the future into our lives?  Do we know just what will happen in those instances where our fear grips us?  No, which is why we fear the unknown!  But do we need to fear?  Well, Jesus would tell us no, as our heavenly Father has us in His hands at all times.  Knowing this, we also know that we need not fear anything as we are Gods children.  As the scripture tells us, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  I would clarify this a bit to proclaim, "If God is for us, WHAT can be against us?"  As 1 John 4:18 tells us, fear involves torment, and who needs that?  In my view, Jesus endured that torment for us!  The apostle Paul tells us here also that it is the perfect love of Christ that has cast out our spirit of fear.  We also need not fear as Jesus has loved us first.

So we may boldly say:  "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear, what can man do to me?"

Hebrews 13:6 NKJV 

Are not many of our fears related to the actions of thhose around us?  Well, Paul once again tells us in Hebrews 13:6 that these fears also need be unfounded.  For our Lord God is our helper, will He not fight whatever battles we are facing?  The scriptures are filled with stories and examples of how God delivered and healed those who trusted in Him.  Do we place our trust in a unsure world around us, or do we trust in our hearts that God is in control and will help those who seek Him?  We also need remember that it is God Himself who created whatever it is that we fear.  Be it people or situation, our Lords fingerprints are all over it.  We need only understand that God never does anything out of malice, but out of His perfect love for us.  Therefore, if our Lord who created all that is around us has shown His perfect love towards us, what is it we are to fear?

~Scott~