Fear be gone!

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." I have written about this verse before and quite frankly, I hope that I still write about it many more times. The impact of this verse on our daily lives is just phenomenal!

I want to start by elaborating on fear. We don't just fear. We fear something, a situation, a person or maybe a future possible event. Fear always has a root that stems from something and that something is almost always a lie. Satan is the great liar, the father of all lies. He plants these lies in our minds (thoughts) and when we dwell on these thoughts, they create emotions and then ultimately we start acting and responding out of fear. (actions) The sequence is always the same thought, emotion and action.

He plants these lies to sow doubt and to break down our faith. Fear thus takes root and all kinds of emotion ensue for eg. anxiety, worry, stress, nervousness and the list goes on. So you might be wondering how all this links back to "perfect love casts out fear"?

Well the Bible says that God is love, He is perfect love and when we keep our eyes focused on His love, we will not fear, because the greatness of His love for us is far bigger than any fear. So if you feel anxious, worried or stressed and fear has gotten the better of you, take some time out and identify the lie, because when we worry, we have started believing somewhere deep down that God isn't all that He says He is.

For example if you worry because you don't know how you will pay your bills then the lie might be "why would your God provide for you, how sure are you that He will come through for you?" If we fall for the lie, then we start believing that God is not the great provider that the Bible proclaims Him to be and fear creeps in. So in our minds we think that God is our provider, but in our hearts we worry that He won’t provide. We need to take the lie captive and submit it to the Word so that our mind and heart can be in agreement. The truth is that nothing can separate us from the love of God and the more we believe it, the more we will know His love and the fear will be cast out.

Obtain a greater revelation of His love! Sit in His presence, read the Word, write down verses, look back at testimonies in your life, do whatever you can to try and comprehend even slightly the amount of love that He has for you. If we can just grasp the tip-of-the-iceberg of His love for us, then we will never fear again and no worry or anxiousness will ever hold us back from living life to the fullest! Let love grow and watch fear disappear!

Picture credit: lthomason

Live fearlessly!

God designed us to live fearlessly and yet we are so often held back every day by fear. Mostly when someone says "fear", I think of spiders or heights or those things that you find on people's general lists, but those are not the fears that I'm taking about.

I'm talking about those fears that paralyse you without you even knowing about them. Those fears that stop you from moving forward in life, those fears that limit your potential. Satan can see the potential which God has placed in us from an early age and often he creates situations to scare us and keep us from the exact thing which God is calling us to. For example, the fear of rejection can stop you from loving, caring or giving or the fear of failure can stop you from breaking borders and going places where no one has dared to venture before. 

Often it is quite daunting to think about the things that really scare us. It makes us feel vulnerable and it is easier to just brush them under the carpet and put our "I'm fine" face on. Even though we know that the issue will pop out its head again sometime, we just prefer to ignore it. I guess the problem is that when we start thinking "what do I fear?", the most logical next question would be "why do I fear that?" and this is the hard one to face, because often we need to think back to a situation which was painful and which left many wounds.

When God highlights a fear like this in your life, know that He will create a safe environment in which you can deal with it. He will give you all the support that you need and in the process He will be taking you to new heights of confidence and potential. The problem with fear is that it eats away your confidence and prohibits you from being your true self, because it convinces you that a different you will be better, more acceptable, more perfect, more loved, adored and successful. We then start compromising and adapting to being someone who in our own eyes will be more acceptable, thus focusing so much on being what we are not, that we completely miss out on what we have that is unique.

What will our lives be like if we stop living to meet unhealthy expectations set by ourselves and others and we start accepting ourselves, loving ourselves and focusing on the unique potential which God gave us individually? I'm trusting that the more free we become, the more we will live life with increased joy, peace, love and an abundance of passion!

Picture credit: favim

Perfect love

It always amazes me how many times I can read the same scripture and then, after I don't know how many times, get something completely different or new from it. Or I just completely forgot about the scripture and then when I read it again it is so refreshing to me. It really is amazing how God put so many layers in the Bible for us to discover!

I recently read the following scripture "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." 1 John 4:18

This scripture really is amazing! When we have a revelation of how much God loves us, we cannot fear Him. With the word 'fear' I'm referring to 'being afraid of'. Have you ever thought of why you would be afraid of someone? You might be afraid of someone because they can hurt you physically or emotionally or punish you. But God has no intention of hurting us or punishing us. Jesus has already died for every sin that we have ever committed and will ever commit and He has taken the entire punishment upon Himself. There is no more punishment left for us.

Thus if we receive the revelation of God's love for us, we will fear no more and we will be free to walk without feelings of fear, guilt or condemnation as His love casts out all fear and keeps us in relationship with Him. If our revelation of His love is too small, then we are not yet perfected in love and fear might overtake us from time to time and make us feel condemned.

When God looks at us He sees us clothed in righteousness and in right standing with God, because of what Jesus has done. There is no disappointment in His eyes, only love for us. It is His love that sets us free, it fills us with peace and joy and gives us a foundation of security, knowing that we are always in the palm of His hand, that His favour is on us and that He is always in control.

Do not be afraid and do not be ashamed, but run into the arms of God. Ask Him today to give you a greater revelation of His love for you, so that you can be perfected in love. There you will find acceptance, love, rest and a peace that transcends all understanding.

“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Photo credit: favim

Love or fear?

I was busy reading a book yesterday and the author commented that “all our actions come from one of two basic emotions – fear or love.” Wow, I couldn't agree more and I haven't thought about it in this way before. I started thinking of the motive behind why I do the things I do. Out of love or fear?

I started thinking about the kind of life that I want to live with God, at the office, at home and in relationships. A life of love or fear? Why do I stay at my current job? Because I am passionate or because I fear that I won't have enough money if I  do something which I am passionate about? Why do I spend time with certain people? Because I love them, care for them or because I'm too scared to be alone?

We can all recognise love and passion in our lives and it brings joy, freedom and life. God is the ultimate example of love. He is love and love is everywhere where His Spirit and presence are on earth. We can all also recognise fear in our lives and it breeds anxiety, stress, shame, doubt and limits us. Lies breed fear. When we are close to breakthrough or a new adventure in our lives, fear can step in and limit us. Breaking limits and overcoming fear takes courage and if we want a life that goes beyond the normal, fear will always try and takes us down first. We have a choice, life is a choice, God created choice not robots.

Fear does not help anyone, fear does not set us free, but it keeps us in bondage. How do we overcome fear? If God is asking you to take a new step, then you need to learn to trust Him, to have faith. God will give you everything you need to overcome your fear, but it starts with you and it starts with faith. The Bible says that even when we are faithless, God is faithful. When you are faithless, take your faithlessness to Him. Ask Him for the faith you need. The Bible says that He is the author and perfecter of our faith. He starts and perfects our faith. The Bible says that faith comes from hearing the Word. Read your Bible and find out what it says about you and about God and about who you are, because you have put your faith in Jesus. It empowers you, it makes your courage grow and it catapults you to new heights.

Lay your fears down at His feet. Let Him carry your burdens, you are not alone. Tell Him that you are putting your faith in Him today and read the word of God so that you can know Who you now are in Jesus. Start reading 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 and start to see that you are a new creation. Read Romans 8 and learn about life in the Spirit, that you are heirs with Christ and God’s everlasting love for you. God is for you, not against you. He loves you and He’s calling you to greater things. Do not let fear of the unknown hold you back. What kind of life do you want to live? Cling to the things of love, cut loose the bonds of fear and start living the life you always dreamed of.

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

“if we are faithless, He remains faithful— for He cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13

Song: Jesus Culture – Holy Spirit(AMAZING!!) 

Picture credit: Julia Stotlar