“We know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love . . . because God’s perfect love drives out fear.”
1 John 4:16, 18 (NCV) In asking people about why they don’t fully trust God, it's usually one of three things: People are afraid that if they give their lives fully to God, they’ll lose their freedom, they’ll lose their fun, or God will turn them into some kind of religious fanatic. None of that sounds inviting! The bottom line is, people are afraid. We’re afraid to trust God completely. Yet God has an answer for our fear of trusting him. The Bible says, “We know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love . . . because God’s perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:16, 18 NCV). God loves you. You were created as an act of his love. Over and over in the Bible, God makes this clear. God thought you up and created you to love you and to let you love him. The greatest expression of God’s love is Jesus. God came to earth in the form of a human being to show us what he is really like. He then showed us how much he loved us by dying on the cross. The cross tells us once and for all that we can fully trust God. We can trust him with our lives because he gave his Son’s life for us. If God is telling the truth in his Word that he loves you, then you know he won’t take away your freedom or your fun or turn you into a fanatic. God isn’t a cosmic killjoy. He’s your heavenly Father. The more you know God, the more you trust him. Why? Because you’ll see all around you—in his Word, in your life, and in the world he created—all the evidence of how much he loves you. And as your love for him grows, your fear will diminish.
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“Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness.”
Acts 4:29 (GNT) We all have fears. Too often, though, we let them rule over our lives; we let them stop us from taking a stand for what we know God wants us to do. Like Daniel standing in the lion’s den, we face people and situations that threaten to destroy us and our witness for Christ. But we have a choice: Will we succumb to our fears, or will we stand up for God in spite of those fears? If you want to overcome the fears that are dragging you down, you need to clearly understand the benefits of choosing to stand up for what God wants. Most importantly, you need to see that doing what God wants you to do is a clear victory over the fear in your life. Because fear grows. Every time you give in to a fear, it becomes more intense. Fear grows every time you refuse to do what God wants you to do. Eventually, you’ll feel cornered. So what do you do? Follow the lead of early Christians. We’re certainly not the first generation of Christians to face fear. Early believers faced all kinds of persecution. The book of Acts shows us a bit about how they stood up to fear. As Peter and John proclaimed Jesus boldly in Acts 4, they came up against fierce opposition. So they prayed, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness” (Acts 4:29 GNT). The answer to your fear isn’t to give in to it. It’s to move forward boldly in spite of it. You stand up to the fear. Fear doesn’t respond to logic, so your only chance to get rid of a fear is to trust God and face the fear. Never, ever forget this: God won’t part the water in front of you until you take your first step (see how God did this for Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:8). You take a step of faith, and then God shows you the path. That won’t happen if you stand wrapped up in your fear. Take a step in faith today, and watch fear crumble in the process as God guides your steps. “Where 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 children. If love is the motivation of everything you do, then fear is going to disappear. “Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18 NCV). Maybe something you have to do is making you nervous. When you start feeling fear rise up in you, 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 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. “He did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.”
2 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT) Sometimes the fears in your life can be loud, demanding your attention. But you can trust that God is with you and for you and is more powerful than whatever you’re afraid of. When the apostle Paul was in a frightening situation, he chose to trust God instead of giving in to his fear. When he did, here’s what he found to be true about God: “He did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us” (2 Corinthians 1:10 NLT). You have a choice just like Paul did. Choose to believe God is watching over you. Choose to trust him. And choose not to give in to your fears. God promises believers that, no matter what happens to us, he is working for our good—if we love him and follow him: “Now we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 TLV). If you’re a believer, God promises all things are working together for good—not that all things are good but that they are working together for good. That means you can stop listening to your fears because there is no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, or disaster in the life of a believer that God can’t ultimately get some good out of. There is no need to fear the future. Your fears reveal where you do not trust God. So, today, make a list of your fears and ask God to help you identify the reason you have them. Then ask him to help you replace your fears with trust. Now, this is important: Expect God to start helping you learn to trust him with each fear. Then, watch to see how he does help you. “There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake.”
Ecclesiastes 7:20 (GNT) In America, failure is almost the unpardonable sin. We idolize success. But that kind of pressure creates major stress on people. The fear of failure has many different faces. It can cause you to be indecisive, a workaholic, or a perfectionist who clings to safety. Because we’re afraid to fail, we shun all kinds of risks. For many of us, that fear of failure has an iron grip on our hearts. Even some of the best and brightest people in the world are the most impacted by a fear of failure. That’s why I urge you to internalize this one simple message: We’ve all made mistakes. It’s not just a “you problem”; it’s a human problem. The Bible says, “There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 GNT). Not only have you made mistakes in the past, but you’ll also make more in the future. I guarantee it. Even playing it safe and refusing to take risks is a mistake. Some people ask all the time, “What if I fail?” You might ask them, “What do you mean if?” You’ve already failed many, many times in life. We all have. You’re a failure in some area of your life right now. And you’ll fail a lot more in the future. Even superstars stumble. The greatest professional basketball players only sink half their shots. The best professional baseball players will only get to base one out of every three at bats. Failure is normal. You’ll never overcome your fear of failure until you fully accept the reality that you’re not perfect. The Bible says there is only one failure you need to fear: “Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace” (Hebrews 12:15 NCV). You need grace. We all do! Only when we let go of the fear of failure will it release its maddening grip on our lives. Once that happens, we can fully accept God’s grace. “Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’”
Mark 10:48 (GNT) If you’re going to make a fresh start with faith in your life, you need to face your fears. Don’t let them control you! Fear has an incredible ability to paralyze our potential—to keep us from launching out and having faith in our lives. When we choose fear over faith, it makes us skeptical—we’re afraid of trying anything new. It makes us selfish—we’re afraid to commit to God and to others. It makes us short-sighted—we focus on the past and not on the future. A man named Bartimaeus faced a fear that is familiar to many of us: the fear of rejection. He was blind and wanted to be healed. He knew that to shout out to Jesus over the crowd wasn’t the right thing to do. He knew that people would look down on him for it, but he was desperate. And he knew that Jesus Christ was the only one who could help him. So he got Jesus’ attention. The Bible says, “Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (Mark 10:48 GNT). And look what happened: When he shouted out to Jesus, everyone around him told him, “Don’t do that. Be quiet. Don’t make a scene. Surely Jesus Christ isn’t interested in you. He has more important things to do.” The devil whispers things like that to a lot of us. When an opportunity for faith comes into our hearts, thoughts like, “God surely wouldn’t be interested in me” or “Don’t make a scene” or “What would people think of me?” keep us from having faith. When you see an opportunity to change, there are all kinds of shouts from inside and around you that tell you not to rock the boat. But God is asking you to do something greater than you’ve ever done before: He’s asking you to depend on him completely. Don’t you think that’s going to feel a little bit scary? Of course it is. When God asks something of you, you have a choice. Are you going to fall back on your fear and stay the way you are? Or are you going to tame your fear and step forward in faith? “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4 (NLT) What are you worried about today? The economy? Your health? Your bills? Your kids? Are you worried about the future? The fact is there are a lot of reasons to be afraid in today’s world. But God promises that, even in your darkest valleys, he is walking beside you. It’s interesting to note that there are 365 verses in the Bible that say, “Fear not.” God provided us with one “Fear not” message for every day of the year! He wants us to hear the message: Don’t be afraid”? Why does God have to repeat himself so often when it comes to our worries and fears? It’s because our hurts and hang-ups can often cause us to think that God is out to get us, that all he wants to do is condemn us and punish us. But that simply isn’t true. Jesus is the proof of that. When you understand God’s grace and mercy, then you have no need to fear the future. God isn’t trying to get even with you. Jesus has taken the penalty for everything you’ve ever done wrong or will do wrong. He paid for it on the cross. So, when a bad thing happens, you don’t have to think, “God’s getting even with me.” Instead, remember, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me” (Psalm 23:4 NLT). But you can’t just say this Scripture and then expect all your fears to go away once and for all. These are verses you will have to pray over and over again as your human nature slips back into worry. But keep praying. Keep reminding yourself of God’s promises. They never fail! “He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’”
Matthew 8:26-27 (NIV) Any time you’re in a situation you have absolutely no control over, switch your focus to the greatness of God. That’s called worship, and it’s an antidote for withstanding the potentially devastating winds of life. During stormy days—when your health is declining, your spouse is unfaithful, or your friends are critical—you have a choice to make. Are you going to worry? Or are you going to worship? There is a beautiful example of this in the New Testament. Jesus is out in a boat with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee was—and still is—a huge lake, making it easy for storms to come up suddenly. And that’s exactly what happened. Matthew 8:24-25 says, “Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’” (NIV). The ship was tossing and turning, but Jesus kept on sleeping. He was at peace; he wasn’t worried. But the disciples were panicked. Jesus said to them, “‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’” (Matthew 8:26-27 NIV). The entire experience left the disciples in awe of Jesus. They had forgotten for a moment who Jesus was. But when they saw him display his power over nature, it turned their focus away from their fear and onto God’s greatness. In other words, the experience made them worship. Worship is one way to set your sail so that the winds of life drive you in the direction you want to go—toward Jesus. Stormy winds can push you off course and threaten to drown you. Instead, let winds of pain, trauma, and stress drive you to focus on God and set your sail toward him. What are you afraid of in this season of your life? Whatever it is, with Jesus is in your boat, your boat is unsinkable. He has power over nature—and over everything else. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.”
1 John 4:18 (NIV) God is a God of radical freedom. In fact, the Bible says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1 NIV). What does God’s freedom give you? Over the last few days, we’ve learned that it gives you a clear conscience, direct access to God, and the power to do what’s right. It also gives you freedom from the fear of death. Death is a universal fear, yet it’s a fear that few people want to face. It may be tempting to go through life pretending you’re not going to die. But only a fool would go through life unprepared for what they know is inevitable. Here’s the good news: Jesus came to set you free from the fear of death. Hebrews 2:14-16 says, “For only as a human being could he die and in dying break the power of the devil who had the power of death. Only in that way could he deliver those who through fear of death have been living all their lives as slaves to constant dread” (TLB). The only people who are afraid of God are people who don’t know him. The better you get to know him, the less you’re afraid of him, because God is love. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18 NIV). How could you fear someone who loves you unconditionally? How could you fear someone who thinks about you more than you do? God knows every detail of your life. He even knows how many hairs you have on your head! So why would you be afraid to go be with him forever? If you know the Lord when you die, you’re not leaving home—you’re going home! You’re going where you were meant to be for all eternity, to “the kingdom [God] prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34 NIV). Praise God, you can live free! You can live without guilt, able to talk to God anytime and anywhere, free to do what is right, and confident there’s no need to fear death—all because you belong to Jesus. “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 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! The Bible reminds you, “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 example, Satan knows that obeying God 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 that 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! |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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