“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
1 John 4:18
There are SO many places in the Bible that God tells his people not to be afraid.
When they are being visited by an angel, chances are good the encounter begins with “Fear not!” When they are heading into battle, he reminds them that he is with them and that they don’t need to fear. When they are about to begin following a new way of life or are stepping into a new form of leadership, he says: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
You get the point.
Hiding out or cowering away in fear is not the way of God’s people. We were not made to live in fear… that’s why our bodies begin to break down when our thoughts and emotions continue to revolve around fears and anxieties.
Thankfully, our Creator knows a lot more about how we’ve been wired and that most of us will need more than a simple, “I commanded you to not be afraid… so figure it out and stop being such a scaredy cat!” He commands strength and courage because he promises to be with them, to be with us, wherever we go.
God is Love and if he is with us wherever we go, doesn’t that mean we have everything we need to see fear cast out? Yes and no…
1 John 4:7-17 talks not only about how God is love, but also about how we are to love one another! About how God abides with us when we love one another and about how we abide in him and about how all of this is possible because he has given us his Spirit!
I am prone to anxiety and often have loads of worst-case-scenarios running through my brain, so choosing not to fear does not come naturally. Even though I know God is with me, it’s not sustainable for me to keep choosing to be strong and courageous… This is where abiding makes all the difference!
Deciding to abide in God means that we are settling in there. Think of nesting or making a dwelling place. Abiding and remaining in God, rather than settling into my distractions, means that there is much less space for fear and worry. It also requires daily decisions, sometimes moment-by-moment decisions to make Love my home.
When we choose the way of Love, rather than fear, we partner with the Spirit of God! When we choose to listen to the thoughts and words of Love rather than the anxious ones, the Spirit ministers to us. As we continue to make our dwelling place in God, abiding by (following) the way of Jesus becomes the natural choice! We then get to partner with the Spirit in being able to share the fear-eliminating Love with those around us.
Lord show us what it means to abide in you anew!
May we become so at home in your presence that anywhere apart from your Love send us right back to you… may we be people who know strength and courage in you!
Show us how to partner with you, Holy Spirit, as we seek to share this great love with those around us… we don’t want to keep this to ourselves and long to see others having fear cast out of their lives too!
Thank you Jesus for showing us the way to abide in your Father and for always inviting us into this dwelling place of oneness.
Amen.