What creates fear in you? Relationship problems? Health problems? Financial problems? How about fear of failure? Fear of death? Fear of rejection? Something else?
Unaddressed fear contributes to worry, and the combination of fear and worry becomes heavier and heavier. Sometimes we try to fix it by isolating it into a back corner of our mind and then just live with it. In the medical sense we know that infected wounds don’t go away. And emotional woundedness that manifests in fear and worry festers in the same way.
So … How do you get rid of fear? What can you do to be less afraid of threats? Is there a way to reach the point where fear is not your automatic reaction? Can fear be cleansed out of us and replaced with a sense of peace and security?
Would the best tool be to have more courage? That certainly helps. Should we frequently and habitually remind ourselves of truths as a way to quench our fears? That is helpful as well. Some people would tell us, “Just get over it.” In my experience that rarely works. The fear hides somewhere inside, but it is still there.
You might know the answer I am looking for if I ask it this way: What does the Bible say will cast out fear?
It is love … perfect love.
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1st John 4:18)
The source of love is God, and love is the most powerful game-changer in existence. We can release this love power into ourselves and into others through prayer. Everything God does is based on his love for us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his Son…” (John 3:16) God’s love is “perfect” love.
During these contentious times, let us intentionally reflect on the unlimited and unconditional love of God. Think of how deeply, thoroughly, and perfectly God loves you! Soak it in. Bring to the surface any worry or care that causes distress and ask God to replace it with his love. Make declarations about his love’s effect on you. “I am deeply loved by God.” “Nothing can separate me from the love of God.” (see Romans 8:38-39) “I hereby trade any disturbance in me in exchange for the love of God.” “I breathe in his love and breathe out the impurities of fear and anxiety.”
You see, as we continuously absorb the love of God into our inner being over a long period of time, fear starts to run out of places to inhabit within us. Fear eventually has little or no room to function. As the incredible love of God goes in, the fear is “cast out.”
Blessings,
Chaplain Mark