Love Casts Out Fear

Fear has always been a fiend lurking in the shadows of my life. 

I woke up in a fright, my left arm completely numb and lifeless. My heart pounded as I frantically flopped my arm back and forth, attempting to bring back feeling. Nothing. Fearful thoughts raced through my mind, leaving the conclusion that one of these times my arm or leg may remain dead.

How could God allow this to happen again and again? Does he not care? Dare I go back to sleep? On and on my mind reeled. Finally, I started to have a tingling sensation return, but the rest of the night left my body with feelings of electricity coursing through my veins. 

These episodes have continued for nearly two years now. Each one is a battle, and yet I am learning to stand in the midst of fear. I am experiencing that he who is in me, truly IS greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). As a child of the Father, I am guarded and protected from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3). Circumstances may feel otherwise, but that is the truth. 

Fear, oh is he a liar! Whispering, sometimes shouting lies into the stories of our lives. Satan is the father of lies, who speaks lies to us with great proficiency. He uses anything in our lives to provoke us to fear. The root of fear can burrow deep, reaching to the very core of our beings. If we are not careful it can become a part of who we are. It often creeps in when we are children. Such was my experience. In the vulnerability of a child’s mind, a root of fear sought me out…

I lay next to my sister in my grandparents guest bed. A book clutched tightly in my hand. My heart is pounding as my sister and I count our breaths, comparing the numbers. Mine are less, so I assume I’m dying. At least the book says so. My grandpa has cancer and is close to death. We found a book describing stages of death next to the bed and decided to assess ourselves. One of the signs of impending death is a decrease in the number of breaths per minute. The familiar feeling of fear grips my insides, I feel as though time is standing still. I’m only 10 years old, but I know what fear is.

So, what is the antidote to fear? “Perfect love casts out fear” is what 1 John 4:18 tells us. As a child, fears would often come upon me, in one form or another. Many nights I remember my mom sitting on my bedside, reciting 1 John 4:18, using hand motions to emphasize the casting out of fear. There was something powerful in the completeness of God’s love that drove the fear out of my heart in those moments.

But fear is persistent, preying upon its victims, awaiting anther moment of weakness. There is a reason “Do not fear” is the most repeated command in the Bible. More powerful than fear’s pursuit, however, is the relentless love of God. 

He continues to speak truth. He continues to bring light into the darkness. His grip is tighter than the bondage of fear. Indeed as children of God, we are no longer slaves to fear. “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).