No Fear

Love is a word thrown around easily in our society. We have love for our favorite coffee, sports team, and restaurant. Many of us end phone conversations with friends and family with a quick, "Love you!" We use one word to express various types of emotions relating to love. Sadly, as I look around our world I am not sure how many people have ever grasped the true meaning of love. This is evidenced by the abundance of fear in the lives of so many. Parents are overbearing of their children out of a fear of harm or failure in their own parenting. There are people who will not travel by some means of transportation because of fear. Millions of people conform to the patterns of this world out of fear. I understand the fear and I know it is very real. We go through our day to day lives in a mundane walk, yet all the while deep inside we know there is something more. There is something inside of us screaming to come to life. It is the purpose assigned to us before the beginning of time. It is having the secret dream lying dormant for years and it so desperately wants to be awakened. What stops us from stepping into our true God assignment? I believe it all comes down to fear. 

I've had more than my share of experience with fear. For 13 years I followed the expected norm of working in the corporate world. I grew up learning you are responsible for yourself. There was no sense of entitlement for me growing up and for that I'm thankful. I am the single mom of two children and I take full accountability for them and for their care. However, something happened in me that caused me to step out of the mold. The dream in me was awakened. Was it scary to leave a "secure" job with good benefits and having no idea what my next step would be in life? You bet it was! I was terrified! I would laugh as people would tell me how brave I was when I felt everything but brave. What happened to me was the same thing that happens to those who pack up their lives and move to a country they have never known with languages unfamiliar. What happened to me is what I see happen in the lives of the women I work with who are coming out of being degraded through stripping, prostitution, and trafficking. What happened to us? There is only one answer that can accurately explain the difference. 

Love. 

It may seem crazy to think the answer to fear is love. Yet this is exactly what we are told in scripture. 

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 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." 1 John 4:17-19

When we come face to face with true love, fear disappears. The things which cause us to worry are no longer of importance. The world asks, "How can you _______ and how will you be able to ______?" Yet all these concerns are based in fear. It is fear of not having enough. It is fear of failing. Yet we are told to not fear. When the love of Christ becomes a reality to us, worldly "logic" becomes confusing to us. I believe the reason so many marriages are ending is because there is a lack of genuine love. How can we truly love another (or even ourselves) if we have never experienced the very definition of love in the form of Christ? We can call many things love, but until we accept His love for us, love will remain an abstract notion. The above scripture tells us fear involves torment. The only way to remove fear is to accept and embrace Christ's perfect love for us. His love is the only true and perfect love in existence. When we dwell in His presence, we begin to take on His characteristics. Only then can we begin to reflect His love to others. 

Why is it people can drive into the middle of gang infested neighborhoods in the middle of the night to be witnesses for Christ? 

Love.

Why is it people are willing to move to the other side of the world to tell others about Christ? 

Love. 

Why is it people are willing to risk their own lives to rescue someone trapped in slavery?

Love. 

Why is it people leave "security" for living on faith? 

Love. 

Have you truly ever experienced His love? His word never lies. If you are living in torment, then examine possible reasons. The word says "he who fears has not been made perfect in love." We are in a world longing for love. We spend countless dollars in search of temporary pleasures we believe will ease our torment. Peace will never be fulfilled in our lives until we accept the One who can teach us how to love. God is the very definition of love. Until we accept fully His love for us, we will never reflect love. There can be good deeds and pleasant feelings towards other, but true love cannot manifest until we are drowning in the depths of His love for us. I pray today you experience a revelation of His love for you. I pray today is the day you cease to operate in fear. I pray for the dormant dreams in your soul to have the courage needed to awaken. I pray the fear overtaking you would be drowned in love.