1 John 4:18 NIV
[18] “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.”
In this world as it is now, is the possibility of living without fear only a pipe-dream? Is it possible to face each new day with such confidence that fear has NO place in our responses to the stuff that happens?
I recently read the story of Anna to an elderly friend in a nearby frail care facility. Anna’s short life, encapsulated in a masterfully crafted book called, “Mr God, This is Anna”, by Fynn, is the true story of a five-year-old runaway child, discovered late at night in a street in pre-war London. Her benefactor, a teenage boy, took her to his home from where, for three years, he learned to travel with her on her journeys of discovery in the magical world of people, creatures, words, and numbers.
Anna was an adventurer. Her goal was Mr God. Every question, every experiment, every discovery, every conclusion led her straight to the heart of “Mr God” who was both her pride and her joy.
Anna’s relationship with Mr God was simple. As Fynn, the author, described… whatever Anna’s circumstances, she hurled herself at Mr God in a free fall of absolute trust, into His arms. Her constant refrain was these three little words, “I ain’t afraid!”
Anna’s short life came to an abrupt end when she fell from a tree in an attempt to rescue a stranded kitten. She was skewered on an iron railing and, without the aid of antibiotics, succumbed to infection. Her last murmured words were, “Fynn, I bet Mr God lets me into heaven for this!”
I believe that this is what real life, the abundant life, is all about…living without fear. We can never escape life’s unpredictability because we will always be a part of this world with all its evils but…what we do with what happens will make all the difference between an adventure and a nightmare.
Fear! Fear stalks everywhere. Its ghostly fingers clutch at our hearts around every dark corner but… fear is a phantom, a “what if” that invades our hearts, clouds our minds, and paralyses our responses if we allow its clammy fingers to squeeze out faith.
Why is fear such a persistent intrusion into our thoughts? The Apostle John said, “Fear has to do with punishment.” Is it possible that fear gets its energy from the subtle idea that every bad experience is God’s way of cracking the whip at us for every real or perceived wrongdoing, and every good experience God’s way of manipulating us with some unknown but sinister intention?
Unlike Anna, we humans are patholigically suspicious of “Mr God”. From where does this suspicion come? From our implacable enemy, the devil, of course. Fear is one of the most potent weapons in his arsenal. Whatever happens, both good and bad, fear intrudes to colour our perceptions of God. If good happens, is it real, how long will it last, why is God being good to me? If bad things happen, what have I done to displease Him?
The Bible is crowded with instructions not to fear. “Do not fear!” or its equivalent, occurs about 330 times in God’s Word, once for almost every day of the year. So, every day should begin with the resolution, “I will not be afraid.”
With this determination, “What if…” can undergo a change. “What if…” becomes “Even if…” when we choose to change our perspective. What can make the change?
God’s love for us, His reassuring antidote to fear, is written indelibly on every page of the Bible. Love and fear can never live together. One cancels the other. God’s love for us rotten sinners is written in blood…the blood of His own son.
John 3:16 NIV
[16] “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Did you get that? Let’s say it again!
1 John 4:10 NIV
[10] “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Just for good measure, let the Bible say it a third time…
Romans 8:32 NIV
[32] “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Is this not enough to convince us of a love so great that this God, who loves us with a love that gave all and withholds nothing for our good, still loves and will always love us beyond imagination?
John said, “God is love!”, not just “God loves us.” His essence is pure love. That means that He is who He is…LOVE.
Even David, before the cross, embraced this love so big that the universe itself was not big enough to contain or explain it.
Psalms 36:5 NIV
[5]”Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”
Psalms 103:11 NIV
[11] “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him…”
Should we, then, not permanently banish fear and embrace the love God has for us in every situation, good or bad. Why? Is it not because life has a lesson to teach us about God’s love so great that it will alter every circumstance we endure from threat to opportunity?
We can only embrace a different response to the “stuff” that happens if we understand God’s purpose and the way He achieves it. If life, for us, is only a set of random happenstances, we will have no reason to expect a good outcome. Like a ball in a football game, we will feel like we are being kicked around by two rival teams, both intent on the winning the game.
What if, instead, we know where God is taking us and can work with Him in gaining His objective? What if we can cancel fear by embracing God’s love? What if we are learning that every adverse happenstance is peeling off another layer of suspicion and mistrust in the perfect love of the Father? What if God’s plan is so to refine our faith in His love that we can turn every “what if” into a resounding “even if”? What if we can grow a trust in God like that of the three Hebrew men who declared, at the threat of the fire,
Daniel 3:16-18 NIV
[16] Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. [17] If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. [18] But EVEN IF he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
No fear!
God’s purpose, in all things, is to restore in us the image of His Son. He desires a family of sons and daughters who perfectly resemble Jesus, His blueprint. Testing is His method. Only testing us can expose the flaws that foul our faith in Him. Every circumstance is a test. Good things and bad things arouse suspicion. Every suspicion calls in question God’s trustworthiness. Every time we say, “even if”, our trust in His infallible love is strengthened and takes us a step nearer to likeness to Jesus.
Every lesson learned means one less test, until, as Paul declared…
Romans 8:37 NIV
[37] “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Is it possible to live without fear, unmoved from our unwavering confidence in God’s perfect love? A resounding “Yes!”, if we choose to change from “What if?” to “Even if!”
Romans 8:28-29 NIV
[28]”And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
[29] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Armed with this conviction, we can do and be what Paul prescribes…
1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV
[58]”Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. LET NOTHING MOVE YOU. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”