“We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them . . . No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.”
1 John 4:16, 18 (GW) Fear never gives you a life of freedom. It always limits you! You may call it worry or anxiety, but the results are the same. It’s a prison of fear. Even when Jesus rose from the dead on the very first day, fear locked the disciples away from how God wanted to use them. John 20:19 says, “That Sunday evening, the disciples were together behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jews” (GW). After Jesus died, the disciples locked themselves in a house because they believed the religious leaders might come after them next. But those doors didn’t just keep the Jewish authorities out of their lives. It kept everyone else out, too. Fear always locks people out of your life. You fear getting hurt again, so you don’t let anyone close to you. But you can’t have love without risking hurt. So how do you escape your prison of fear so you can get close to people again? You don’t do it through a self-help book. Only God can break you out. God does this when you: 1. Remember how much God loves you. You need to do this every time you start to panic and get afraid. Remember that “God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them . . . No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love” (1 John 4:16, 18 GW). When you invite God’s love into your life, fear cannot take up residence anymore. Love and fear can’t stay together! The more you accept God’s love the less afraid— and the more confident and courageous and stronger—you’ll be. 2. Remember God has a plan for you. God’s plan is always good. Bad things might happen in your life, but that’s not God’s plan. The Bible tells us, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan” (Romans 8:28 GW). God specializes in bringing good out of bad. He turns crucifixions into resurrections! The disciples responded in fear and despair to Jesus’ death on the cross, but God brought good—the salvation of humanity—out of it. God’s plan for you is good. No matter what happens, he will turn it into something good. Seeing Jesus and understanding his love for them brought the disciples out from behind locked doors. Whenever you start to feel afraid, remember God’s promises to you. Then, you’ll be free to rest in his love and open your life to loving others.
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“Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now!”
1 Peter 1:3-4 (The Message) Fear is nothing new. It’s been with us from the very beginning! In the Garden of Eden, Adam hid from God and said, “I was afraid.” Humans have been living in fear of God and each other ever since. Fear is based on ignorance. That means truth is the only cure—and truth can only be found in God’s Word. The Bible is full of commands. But do you know which one is the most common? Don’t be afraid. You’ll find it 365 times in Scripture—including several times at the time of Jesus' resurrection. “Don’t be afraid” were the first words the angel told those who showed up at the tomb on Easter morning. They were also the first words Jesus spoke after the resurrection. It’s no wonder why it’s a common theme in the Bible: Fear is humanity’s most common problem. You might not think you’re a fearful person. But you rarely realize how many of your decisions are based on fear, such as the fear of what people think of you and the fear of failure. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you can now live without fear. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “[Jesus] included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own” (The Message). When you live according to the resurrection of Christ, the Bible says you’re living a better life, a life free from fear. In fact, there are five truths about the resurrection that will set you free from fear if you understand them. First, you know Jesus tells you the truth. Throughout history many people have claimed to be God or the Messiah—but only one proved it. The Bible says, “[Jesus] was declared to be God’s Son with great power by rising from the dead” (Romans 1:4 NCV). Without the resurrection, you couldn’t trust anything Jesus said. But you can trust what Jesus says about God, heaven, and everything else he taught because he rose from the dead like he said he would. When you understand Jesus tells the truth and that you can trust what he says, it becomes easier to let go of your fears. Second, you know death isn’t the end. Until Jesus rose from the dead, you didn’t know if there was life after death, because there was no proof. Jesus changed that. The Bible tells us, “God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, and we know that God will also raise us with Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:14 NCV). You don’t need to fear death, because Jesus’ resurrection shows us that death isn’t the end of the story. It’s really the beginning of your eternal life in God’s presence. Third, you know God loves you extravagantly. God didn’t just send you a postcard with a note saying how much he loves you. He cared enough to send the very best—himself! When Jesus was dying on the cross with his arms outstretched, he was saying: “I love you this much.” Fear and love cannot exist in the same place. The Bible tells us, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18 NIV). When you invite Christ into the front door of your heart, fear goes out the back door. Fourth, you know God has a good plan for your life. When you open yourself up to God’s love, he takes care of your past, present, and future. Because of the resurrection, your sins are forgiven, you get a purpose for living, and you get a home in heaven. The Bible describes it like this: “Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now!” (1 Peter 1:3-4 The Message) You won’t get that kind of life anywhere else. You only get it through the power of Jesus’ resurrection. Finally, you know God will take care of your needs. One of the reasons you struggle with fear is that you worry about tomorrow—and worry can’t change anything! It won’t add a single moment to your life, and it won’t solve a single problem. But the resurrection guarantees that God will meet all of your needs—starting with your salvation—by providing you with the power of his resurrection. Paul writes, “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT). You might remind yourself that because Jesus was raised from the dead, you are no longer a prisoner to fear. That’s news so good that you will want to share it! “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19 (NIV) Have you noticed that fear makes you miserable? Looking at your life and the future with eyes of fear will never produce joy. After the spies gave their reports of the Promised Land to Moses—most of them negative—here’s how the Israelites responded: “Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. ‘If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!’ they complained” (Numbers 14:1-2 NLT). Now, that’s what you call a full-blown pity party. The Israelites were so afraid of what was going to happen, that they just wanted to die in the desert rather than trust whatever God had in store for them. These verses from Numbers 14 include four warning signs. When these warnings show up in your life, you will know that you’re looking at the future with eyes of fear. Your sadness increases. Depression can be caused by a lot of things, and it robs you of joy. If you feel sadness pushing out your joy, consider whether you’re allowing fear to skew your perspective. Your complaining increases. When you’re afraid, you want others to share in your misery. If you don’t think you’ve been complaining more lately, check with your spouse or your friends. Sometimes they can see how your fear is manifesting itself better than you can. You start second-guessing. The Israelites all complained about the very people who had led them out of slavery. Fear always sows seeds of doubt. You want to go backwards. Because their perspective was so skewed by fear, the Israelites thought it would be better to die in slavery in Egypt. Of course, they didn’t really want that. But when you’re living with a vision of fear instead of faith, you can’t look at the future with hope. You don’t want to be someone who complains and is always looking back. That’s why God wants you to see the future through eyes of faith, not fear. Start growing your faith today by reserving intentional time with God and in his Word, which says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV). The more you get to know God and his promises, the more purposefully and joyfully you will move toward your future. “Love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid . . . this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love."
1 John 4:18 (NLT) Insecurity ruins relationships. But when you open your life to others, even though they could potentially hurt you, you’ll come alive in ways you’ve never experienced before. Why does insecurity ruin relationships? Because it prevents intimacy. You long to be close, but you also fear being close. You long to have intimacy with others, but it also scares you to death. You can’t get close to someone if there’s fear in the relationship. This is why living together doesn’t work in the long run. There’s no lifetime commitment. You never know when somebody is going to walk out. But fear vanishes, and intimacy—real intimacy—rises when two people say, “We’re committed no matter what. We’re going to make this thing work.” What do you fear in your relationships? Maybe you don’t want people to find out what you’re really like—so you hide yourself. This is the oldest fear, all the way back to Adam, the first man. He said, “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:10 NIV). When you’re afraid, you get insecure and hide who you are. You cover up, not just physically but emotionally. You build walls around yourself and pretend to be someone you’re not. But while insecurity ruins relationships, love builds them up. The Bible says in 1 John 4:18, “Love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid . . . this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love” (NLT). Love takes the focus off you and puts the focus on the other person. But the only way to love others is to realize that God loves you more than you can ever imagine. Suddenly, you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone anymore, and your identity and self-worth aren’t caught up in what others think. Instead, they’re caught up in your relationship with Jesus. You may have had some relational disasters in your life. Welcome to the human race. But in order to open up to others and fight insecurity, God wants you to first open up to Jesus, letting him fill you with his love so you can share it with others. “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”
Psalm 23:3 (NIV) People often fear making the wrong decision, and that creates stress. Maybe you’re facing a decision about a major issue: Should I hold on, or should I let go? Should I get in, or should I get out? Should I get married? Should I find a new job? Should I move? When you can’t make up your mind, you stagger through life. In fact, the Bible says in James 1 that when you remain double-minded, you become unstable in everything you do. The Greek word for unstable literally means “stagger like a drunk.” But God says there is an antidote to your indecision. Psalm 23:3 says, “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake” (NIV). You’ll be able to handle the stress of decision-making when you let God guide you. You may be thinking, “But I’ve tried this!” You asked God to guide you, but then you became more confused than you were before. You still couldn’t figure it out. Now you wonder, “Why is knowing God’s will so difficult?” Is God playing games with you? Of course not! God wants to guide you. He wants you to know his will more than you want to know it. The problem is you often look for the wrong thing when you’re trying to find God’s will. For example, you may look for a feeling. You want to be swept off our feet by some emotion so you can say, “That’s how I know what God’s will is!” You may want a methodical approach to God’s will. You want someone to give you a recipe or a formula to follow. Or perhaps you take a magical approach to God’s will. You’re looking for God to do some fantastic sign—write it in the sky, call you on the phone, send you an email. All of these ways lead to frustration and cause you to miss God’s will. God’s will is not a feeling, a formula, or something he wants you to be frustrated or fearful about. God does not want you confused, and he does not want you to stress over making any decision. The next time you’re making a big decision, rest in the truth that God will guide you along the right paths—every step of the way. “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Proverbs 29:25 (ESV) Anyone who has ever tried to do anything great has, at some point, come face-to-face with naysayers.
If these people had let the naysayers discourage them, imagine where the world would be today! While some naysayers have evil plans, not all naysayers are bad people. Some may truly want what’s best for you. They may even love you. But they’re not God. So don’t treat their opinions like you would God’s opinions. The Bible says, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” (Proverbs 29:25 ESV). Some of you have been disabled by the opinions of others and you don’t even realize it. Others have become addicted to the approval of others. But consider another translation of Proverbs 29:25: “It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the Lord, you are safe” (GNT). Other people’s opinions can sidetrack you from God’s purpose for your life. When you give more weight to the opinions of others than you do to God’s opinion, you stay on the sidelines when God wants you in the game. You stay locked up in a prison of self-made fear. Don’t let that happen. Let go of your fears and trust God’s vision for your life. He’s your biggest cheerleader. He wants you to succeed, and he’s working in your life so you will. “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”
Romans 8:31 (NLT) Psychologists have identified hundreds of different known fears that people can have. Fear is a universal problem—and it takes away your joy. But here’s the good news: You don’t have to be afraid. You have God on your side! “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NLT). With God on your side, you don’t need anything else. God plus one equals a majority. What’s your greatest fear? Is it embarrassment? Failure? Rejection? Disappointing others? Not fitting in? Satan uses all of these fears to rob you of joy. He knows what will make you joyful, so he creates fears to oppose those things. For instance, Satan knows doing what’s right will always bring you joy. So he makes you afraid of what other people will think if you do the right thing. He makes you worry more about your popularity than pleasing God. Satan also knows one of the greatest sources of joy in life is when you share the love of Christ with an unbeliever. So he makes you afraid to tell people about Jesus. The truth is, to find joy, you need only one thing. You need to live for an audience of one: God. That’s Jesus’ path to complete and total joy. He said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11 NIV). You can have joy in life, knowing that God is for you. Fear not! “The Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.”
Hebrews 2:14-15 (NLT) Death is a universal fear. Nobody is exempt from it! But did you know Jesus saved you from that fear? That’s right—Jesus didn’t just save you from your sin. He also saved you from the power and fear of death. “The Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying” (Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT). John 19:30 says, as Jesus died on the cross, he shouted, “Tetelestai!” It’s a Greek word, meaning, “It is finished,” and it was his battle cry. “Telestai” is the shout of a victorious conqueror who says, “I have defeated death. I have proven to you that you don’t have to be afraid of death—because I’m going to come back to life. I am the Resurrection, and you can be resurrected by believing in me. Death is not the end. You don’t have to fear it anymore!” Because Jesus died on the cross in my place, I am not afraid. Death does not have power over me. I know death is just a transfer, and I know where I’m going when I die. It can be the same for you, too—it should be the same for you when you trust Jesus as your Savior. Romans 5:17 says, “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ” (NLT). When you become a Christian, baptism gives you confidence that you have died to sin and have been raised to new life. The way you live your life, too, shows people you are confident in being resurrected one day to be with Jesus forever. You’ve been raised to live a new life, marked by a steady assurance of eternity. This is the best thing to ever happen to you! Now you can live your life helping other people have that same assurance. As you talk about death and life in Jesus, make sure you’re doing it in a way that makes other people want to trust Jesus as Savior too. “Wherever God's love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear.”
1 John 4:18 (NCV) A lot of people think the opposite of fear is faith. It’s not! The opposite of fear is love. Love moves against fear. When love comes in the front door of your heart, fear goes out the back door. You can’t be afraid and loving at the same time—not with real love. When you have real love—God’s love—then you don’t have to fear. People don’t run into a burning building to rescue children because of faith. They do it because of love. Parents will put their lives at risk to protect their families because they love their babies. If love is the motivation of everything you do, then fear is going to disappear. “Wherever God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18 NCV). When you start feeling fear rise up in you—maybe something you have to do is making you nervous—you need to pause at that moment. Then focus on how much God loves you. You may need to remind yourself out loud: “God, you really love me! You’re on my side. You want me to succeed in this. I’m going to do it in your strength and with your love.” God doesn’t want you to fail. He wants you to succeed at what you’re doing in life and fulfill your purpose. When you focus on his love, you won’t be afraid. Perfect love casts out all fear! When you’re fearful, you’re focusing totally on yourself. That’s not love! When you’re loving, you’re focused not on yourself but on what other people need. The more loving you are, the less fearful you are. So, if you make love your motivation for what you do, you’re not going to be afraid to do it. Make love your motivation, and move against your fear. “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”
Isaiah 43:2 (NLT) This is a stressful and unsettled time. And you may feel like you’re going through it alone. But you’re not alone! God sees what you’re going through. God cares about what you’re going through. He’s right beside you, no matter the situation or circumstances you may be facing. There is nothing to fear when you know God is near. No matter what you face in the future, you will never face it alone. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (NLT). Satan will plant all kinds of seeds of doubt and fear in your mind like, “What if I get sick?” or “What if the economy tanks?” or “What if I lose my job?” And, you will undoubtably face anxiety from other sources too. Give those fears to Jesus and remember God promised to never abandon you. You don’t have to know what the future holds because you know who holds the future. God promises, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you . . . ” (Isaiah 43:2 NLT). |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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