I John 4:18a
It doesn’t take long to know fear and for some reason it seems to override the presence of love pretty easily. Unknowns leave us feeling out of control and grasping for something to keep us steady. Broken relationships leave us stranded and fearing the aloneness that threatens to suffocate us. The phone call we receive that informs us of a sudden diagnosis or words that leave us reeling in their wake.
I remember a day in fifth grade. It was the last period of the school day and it was a time to get school work completed so books would not need to be carried home. For some unknown reason, I was the object of others' unkindness. I carried books home. I also began to carry a fear.
I began to fear others, trying to figure out what was wrong with me so I could fit in and be accepted. It became my framework, broken as it was.
February is a month that tosses the word love around pretty freely. The question that bears asking is, “What really is love?”
Why do we search and seek for love in so many wrong places? What drives us? Do you feel the ache of searching for love?
Our relationships and connections here on this earth are limited and faulty. Not one of us loves perfectly. The brokenness of earthly love leaves us gripping, grasping and searching for - something.
There is One who does love perfectly and that is God. God is love. It is who He is. I John 4:7 is one of the many verses that tell us that love is from God.
Fear and love are two companions that want to keep us company. The unique thing is - they cannot both be our good friends. One or the other keeps its grip on our heart. Only one is a good companion.
Decades after that day in fifth grade and in the middle of the darkness of health complications and estranged relationships, I reached out in desperation to know God even more and in ways deeper than ever I had known. As the days and months turned into years, I was surprised by the unexpected transformation of knowing God’s love in deep ways.
When God’s love becomes rooted and grounded in our hearts, it anchors us in each and every storm we encounter, steadying us. When God’s love grips our heart fear loses its grip.
We can say with David in Psalm 56:11, In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 118:6, The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
We wrestle with understanding God’s love because we tend to interpret it with the tangible and limited love of those around us - our parents, friends, partners, etc. We must let go of that framework and learn to trust God, believing His truth that He is love and He loves - period. He loved us while we were sinners. He sent Jesus, His Son, to be our Saviour because He loves us so much He provided the way back to Him.
As we struggle to believe His love, it’s an invitation to lean in towards Him and to ask Him to show us. Pain and fear disorients us and we lash out. God is usually the recipient of our anger and questions. It’s okay, He isn’t afraid of them. So, lean in towards Him with courage to ask Him to reveal to you how much He loves you.
His perfect love will cast out the fear in your heart. It’s the only way to dispel fear. Fear loses its grip as God’s faithful love grips your heart.
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