Fear is not your Friend

Everyone’s name means something; my name is John, it is defined Grace of God or God is Gracious; I love that! Well I have personally given fear a name just so I can keep it in where it needs to be, away from me. Fear in my shortest definition is worrying/meditating that God can’t or won’t do what He says in the bible. Some have said, “a little fear is healthy”; no fear is healthy because it brings torment (1 John 4:18).

First we really have to see the bible as God speaking to us and make it our friend. The more acquainted you become with God’s Word the less you will be acquainted with fear and will stop allowing fear to speak. The bible is not just “stories” that makes for good reading. These are accounts where people have had encounters with God that ultimately changed their lives and ours. When you can come to this realization, your confidence will begin to grow. I say if he has done it for one, he can and will do it for me; God is no respecter of persons.

This mindset reinforces your faith in God and His Word. This is the start of removing fear. Sometimes sitting around not doing anything but worrying about what can’t or won’t happen is similar to allowing someone negative (fear) to preach to you failure. We need someone to build our confidence. So let’s go to the scriptures (or to our friend the Word) to see what we can come up with.

1 John 4:18-19 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.

1 John 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Matthew 22:37-40 says “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

So if this is correct (and it is):

1 John says love cast out fear and God is love,

Matthew says I am to love God with all my heart.

John says God and His Word are the same, so loving His Word is loving Him.

Joshua says if I meditate on The Word (God) I can succeed.

Based on the scriptures we just read, if I love (or become more intimately acquainted with) God/The Word with all my heart, mind and soul, it will remove fear from me and I can succeed in the thing I’m afraid of. See how easy that was, we just hung out with God  and now received some new information, you can succeed.

Your consistent scripture meditation and prayer will remove fear and begin to establish your confidence in your friend; God. Meditation on the Word will plant seeds in your heart for success. Hang out with God; He is your friend and He loves you.