1 John 4:16-19

Looking "What If" in the Eye

Spring boarding off of yesterday's blog, this is a bit of a continuation type of deal. A filler if you did not tune into "Facing Fear" which was yesterday's novel: I talked about my fears in life. I really have a lot of them. There are the silly and serious fears, life and God fears, and definitely ones that were not listed... there are tons not listed because I do not necessarily have the time to think through all my fears, nor do I really want to.

Fear. It is something I have always tried to cover up. It is something I have tried to cover up fear by giving it a different name like "worry" or "concern". I also say things like "It just isn't God's timing" when in reality I am just flat out scared.... and I can't tell God when it is His timing or not. Fear has consumed me and at times kept me from taking advantage of some opportunities. At times it has hindered the way I live my life. It is fear... we all have some fear in our lives.

So how do we face fear? Look the "what if" of a decision in the eye and see that God is much bigger. God loves me and will never leave me (Joshua 1:9 & Isaiah 41:10 are close to my heart). He will never give me more than I can handle and will never put me in a situation I cannot make it through, especially with Christ by my side (1 Corinthians 10:13). God's love is perfect and His power and wisdom are infinite (Romans 8:38-39). He is God after all. To look "what if" in the eye and face fear, there is a trust in perfect love. Perfect love can come from one place alone and that is from our Heavenly Father. He has proved His love on a cross. That love chases the fear away. God is love.
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"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first."

~*1 John 4:16-19 (NLT)*~