How Should God’s Love Impact Our Fears and Lead us to Yes?
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
1 John 4:18 (ESV)
Lesson #1 on a Journey to a Water well.
Is anyone old enough to remember Tina Turner’s song “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” You might wonder what love has to do with freeing you from fear or enabling you to say yes to God. In fact, you’d be wise to spend some time teasing out these spiritual mysteries.
Fear has been in ample supply over the past two years, and we’ll hear a lot about love today since it’s Valentine’s Day. The better question is: How should God’s love impact our fears and lead us to yes? It’s probably not the kind of love you were thinking about, but it’s the only kind of love capable of overcoming fear or saying yes to God. Before we dig into God’s Word and the verse above, let’s demystify yes.
I’m not sure what your yes looks like, but it probably looks different from mine. Your yes may look like leading a Bible Study, sponsoring a student at JH Ranch, or donating a book series to orphans in Kenya. These are the yeses of the women in my life. Your yes may mean you give God your first five minutes, you let go of the hurt, or you reign in your tongue. (Ouch, that last one was for me.) Let me let you in on a secret. My yes, her yes, isn’t any better than your yes—every yes counts in the Kingdom of God. But first, God must get us to yes. And that is why I chuckled when I received the message below.
“We are currently experiencing several obstacles prohibiting travel. After much prayer and discussion, we believe it is best to withdraw from the mission.”
I understood their angst. My journey to yes also started with no. My reply had been less articulate but just as poignant when God first whispered Africa to me. How should I say this, Lord? Thanks for thinking of me but, no. I’m not interested. I mean, no, thank you. I certainly want to love and serve you, but we may need to work together to find a more agreeable alternative.
No looks and sounds a lot like fear.
We’re afraid to say yes because we don’t trust God. We believe if we let go of the hurt or reign in our tongues, they’ll hurt us more. We don’t believe obeying God will ultimately lead us to peace, passion, or satisfaction for our souls. Or, maybe, we can believe it. We just struggle to live it.
In my case, the Holy Spirit whispered the desire of God’s heart into my spirit. He shared a secret I was not prepared to receive. Immediately, fear laid siege to His secret and exploited my immaturity. Fulfillment was the intention of God’s whisper. A life of fulfilling God’s Word and experiencing His satisfaction. But all I could see, hear, and feel was isolation, poverty, and disease. I felt fear.
This begs the question. Why are some derailed by fear while others are unimpeded? Why did I struggle to say yes to God when others did not?
I noticed when Goliath taunted and spewed his threats, fear laid siege to Saul and the Israelite army. They were paralyzed by fear and helpless in the face of their giant. Meanwhile, young David bravely gathered stones while he loudly proclaimed God’s power over the Philistine. God used David’s small stature and even smaller stones to display His power in defeating the giant for His glory. (1 Samuel 17)
What enabled David to fight Goliath or Daniel to go to the lion’s den or the apostles to preach despite intense opposition?
I believe the secret lies in 1 John 4:18. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. (ESV)
David, Daniel, and the apostles knew something about love; the others did not. They understood love wasn’t a feeling rather a person—Jesus Christ.
The Bible says God is love and the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. (1 John 4:16, Hebrews 1:3; NIV)
People who have their lives hidden in the Word, will, and person of Jesus Christ experience courage and peace beyond what is available in the natural. The Israelites were fixated on Goliath, but David was fixated on God. David had a big God and a small giant. David remembered how God had delivered him from the bear and the lion. He had experienced God’s love and faithfulness. Now, he filtered every giant through the lens of God’s love.
We, too, need to filter our giants through the lens of God’s love. When we fixate on God, our faith will supersede our fear. We will acknowledge our fear but submit to our Lord. Like David, we should let our minds replay every act of God’s faithfulness, deliverance, and love. We should let the perfect love of Christ cast out our fear.
Some things don’t change. The first time God whispered Africa, I fixated on my fears. And there were plenty to choose from. There is no shortage of fear or anxiety in 2022. But now we know we should not let fear obscure the truth. Fixating on God’s love and faithfulness is the only way we’ll have the strength to overcome our fears and say yes. Whether that means we choose to forgive or not pick up the offense or get on a plane.
It’s important to learn what God’s Word says about the fears we face. Get busy journaling every act of God’s love and faithfulness so you don’t forget what God has already done. The next time the devil whispers fear, be prepared to loudly proclaim the truth of God’s Word, love, and faithfulness.
Let’s commit to seeing God for who He is and let that enable us to say yes to Him despite the fears we face.
Lesson learned through a Journey to a water well.
Fixating on fear will prevent you from saying yes and taking steps of faith.
Want more? Start here.
1. Read 1 Samuel 17
2. What does verse 26 reveal about David’s perspective on Goliath?
3. Did anyone encourage David to take a step of faith with God? (Refer to verses 28 and 32). Based on this story, should you expect other people to encourage you to take a leap of faith or choose to obey God?
4. Why does David believe he can defeat the giant? (verses 34-37)
5. How can journaling God’s faithfulness help you overcome your fears?