No Fear

Fear has many faces. Generalized anxiety, panic attacks, self protective behaviors, isolation, and control to mention a few. We feel it without even feeling it. It influences us even when are unaware of his presence. It is everywhere in our lives, and in our world. It’s malevolent presence affects nearly everything we do in someway.

“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

Oh, OK, I know you may have read this verse before, but I encourage you to read it like you’ve never heard it. It is revolutionary! It is stunning to me for several reasons. First of all, it’s hard for me to visualize a person , a relationship, or a country without it. But if we start small and try to visualize just a life without fear, perhaps my life, it stirs my heart.

And, to make it even more stunning – the verse even provides the cure for fear. This verse is the Swiss Army knife of the gospel. How do you defeat fear? Eliminate the possibility of punishment. Hang with me here. If we realized that we live in a world where God, the highest court in the land, is not interested at all in punishing us for ANYTHING! He wants us to experience pure love, acceptance, delight, freedom, and wholeness. He doesn’t dispense fire and brimstone, we do that ourselves. We don’t need God’s help for that. It’s all of us.

So I return to my original premise. Visualize your life without fear. This is not only a possibility; it should be true in all of our lives every day. Take it out for a test drive… My next blog will talk about second reason why it is so revolutionary. Stick around.