What creates fear in you? Relationship problems? Financial problems? Health issues? 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 minds and then just trying to live with it. In the medical field we know that infected wounds don’t go away. And likewise, personal and emotional woundedness, which manifests in fear and worry, festers in the same way.
So … how do we get rid of fear? What can we do to be less afraid of threats? Is there a way to reach the point where fear is not our 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? Could we fix it by just frequently and habitually reminding ourselves of truths as a way to quench our fears? Of course, some people would tell us, “Just get over it.” In my experience that rarely works.
Although courage is good and necessary, and thinking on God’s truths is a very effective thing, the Scripture reveals the root method by which fear leaves us. You might know the answer 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)
Christmas is a celebration that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” (John 3:16) After all where could “perfect” love come from other than from him?
Why not use this Christmas to start or renew this constant process of considering how deeply, thoroughly, unconditionally, and perfectly God loves you … and not just thinking about it, but feeling it? Personally, I like to think about and know that someone loves me, but being hugged along with hearing that whisper of “I love you” is powerful and absorbs into my inner being, not just my mind, but my soul and spirit.
As you use this season to intentionally engage in absorbing God’s amazing love, you will be able to tell if it is being effective when you realize that in return your love for him is growing noticeably. You see, this “perfect love” is two-sided … God’s love for us … our love for him. Of course, God’s love for us is already perfect, whereas our love for him is not. But … our love for him is not to be static. As we absorb his love for us, our love for him is growing and “being perfected.”
And when you have absorbed more and more of his love (usually over a long period of time) into your inner being, fear will have less and less room within you to function. As the incredible love of God goes in, the fear within you is being “driven out.”
Be at peace this Christmas!
Chaplain Mark