No Fear
Is it possible to live without fear?
Verse of the Day
“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.”
Today’s Devotional
No fear. Can you imagine that? If I truly embraced how much God loves me, I would have no fear.
Clearly I don’t truly grasp God’s love, because rarely do I have even a day without some kind of fear. Fear of not being or doing enough. Fear of what others think of me. Fear of people reading these devotions that I’m led to write. Fear of where God is taking us and how I will handle that.
I do believe that God’s perfect love drives out fear. I know this to be true personally because I have a lot less fear than I used to. I used to be afraid that I was worthless and not redeemable. But those fears are gone. So, in my experience, the more time I spend with God (and the more obedient I am) the less I fear. And I believe it is a process. I believe He drives out my fears one at a time. I am building my faith one day at a time. And as my faith in God grows, the more I dwell in His love, the less I fear.
The more I surrender to His control of my life, the more I realize that the only things I can really control are my spiritual walk, my attitude, and the effort I put into the tasks God has given me. The rest is God’s job. So what in the world am I afraid of?
Clearly fear is an issue for humans. “Fear not” is a phrase written many times in the Bible. God knows we are a fearful bunch. Which is why we so desperately need His love in our lives. His love for us drives out that fear. This is truth. So if there is anything that you fear, I encourage you to confront that fear with God’s love for you.
One thing I have noticed recently is how easily fear can disguise itself as other things. Fear can masquerade as control, anger, insecurity, over-achieving, discouragement, and many other things. If I want to grow in faith and lessen fear, I need people around me to point out the fear that might be keeping me from living within God’s will for my life. Which means I need to pray for help to be open-minded and teachable instead of defensive. God want us to trust Him so much that fear no longer dictates our thoughts and actions.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Write down something that causes you to fear. Then lay that down at the feet of our perfect, loving God.
What aspects of His perfect love do you need to dwell on today?
How has God’s love conquered a fear you have had in the past?
Who can you ask to show you the fears that are disguised as other things in your life?