Love Versus Fear
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
1 John 4:1
Satan’s number one weapon to separate from God is to fill us with fear, an irrational fear of life. Satan knows the best way to overcome God’s infinite love for us, is to fill us with fear from living in a troubling fearful world. Fear drives us inward in an attempt to immediately try and solve the fearful things in our life, because it gives us the feeling of being in control. Our trust in God is broken because we may feel helpless waiting and hoping God will solve the situations causing us fear.
Satan wants us to destroy our faith in God because he knows that true faith alone can diminish the power of fear, as we live as God servants and learn to give him control. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3: 5-6) How do we learn to trust the Lord over our own understanding?
Faith comes from knowing God, by reading his Word, and believing his promises. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10: verse 17). When we trust the Lord, he reveals himself to us, his love for us, and his promises to us. If we believe his promises and obey the Lord, then his promises will come true in our life. God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. (1 John 2: 3). Keeping the Lord’s commands is essential if we want his promises in our life. This requires that we following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, being a light for Christ in this world. The Spirit will guide us to reveal Christ-like behavior in all situations. If we pray and do not follow the Spirit, being a Light for Christ, then we have become god and we are treating God as our servant. God opposes the proud and he blesses and takes care of his faithful servants. But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” (James 4:6). If we are our on god we are prideful and God opposes us, but if we are God’s servants, we become humble in Christ and we receive his grace.
Today walk as God’s servant in obedience to the Spirit, and know God’s love will be revealed through his promises. He will mold you to be more like Christ enabling you to overcome the world, only if you live as his servant. Walking in the Lord’s divine will is walking in his wisdom and love, as he guides you through life. God can only guide you through life if we obey him through the Spirit, and he is willing to lead you through life because of his perfect love for you. The more we walk as God’s servants, giving him control, the more love, peace, and joy we experience, and our faith in the Lord and his perfect love is destroying the fear from Satan.
Let’s Pray: Lord, help me to surrender to your good, pleasing, and perfect will. Guide me to be light for Christ in this world, because the more I experience you in my life, the more faith I will have. Fill me with your wisdom, and with ever increasing desire to know you. Thank you for your never ending love through Christ. In Jesus name, Amen