Episode 91: 1 John 4:18
Transcription
Today’s verse is 1 John 4:18
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.
Let’s pray together.
God, I confess that I am often afraid. It feels natural to be afraid. There is so much to be terrified of. The world is full of peril and sorrow. Physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. And perhaps there is a healthy fear that keeps us from doing dangerous and foolish things and it is a protector, but I know that the fear that likes to lurk inside my mind is of the devil. It seeks to steal, kill, and destroy the joy I have in You.
And oftentimes, it’s so much easier to give in to it than fight it. It feels familiar, comfortable even. It helps me make decisions and it protects me from hurt and it helps me stay in control. And it comes from a root of pride, of thinking that I know better, I can provide better, I can protect better, I can accomplish better than the Creator of the universe. Oh, LORD, save me from such foolish pride. Do not let me wallow in the fear that proceeds from it. Help me surrender control to You.
I pray, LORD, for Your perfect love. You are love. I pray for You. I pray that I am molded and shaped and driven by Your perfect love instead of the weak fear that so often controls me. I pray that love drives fear out of me, banished because it has no place in a spirit redeemed by the blood of Jesus. I pray that I am not always seeking punishment, for myself or others. I pray that I am a giver of grace and mercy and compassion. Let my every motivation be out of love. I pray that You help me be discerning, always on the lookout for where I let selfish fear drive me instead of perfect love.
Jesus, You saved me, so please help me to continue to walk in Your light and not fall back into the darkness You rescued me from. Help me to fully surrender to the life You have for me, instead of clinging to the past, that murky, fearful, painful place. I may seek it, but it does not love me. Only You do. So please show me Your love. Dazzle me with the glorious rays of truth it provides. May I be drawn to it as a moth to a flame of hope. And help me to have confidence that You have redeemed me and I will stay redeemed in Your name. I am not being punished for my unbelief. You are a God of mercy and grace.
When I am scared, when the darkness closes around me, when the fears surround me in a cloud, and when my circumstances try to overwhelm me with the impossibility of deliverance, be my knight. Be the mighty shield of faith around me. Help me to put my full confidence in You, trusting that You know how to love me well and You will not abandon me when things are hard and that nothing is impossible for You. And that I can do all things through You, Jesus. You are all that I need. May this be lodged so deep within me, a truth that will never be removed, no matter what the evil one throws at me. I stand with Jesus, covered in His perfect love, forgiven and provided for as a child of God. Help me proclaim this truth today.
I pray this in the faithful and the powerful and the trustworthy name of Jesus. Amen.
