Guard Your Heart

My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
—Proverbs 4:20-23 NKJV

We must always guard our hearts and the things we put into them. We need to pay attention to God’s Words and keep them deep in our hearts, instead of fostering doubt and unbelief. Our thoughts, the things we value, the words we speak about ourselves, and above all else, our hope should reflect a heart that is surrendered and open to God’s healing grace. 

Psalm 103:2-4 emphasizes the importance of honoring the Lord for His forgiveness of all our sins and healing of all our diseases. We are told not to forget His benefits. How often do we forget these truths in the face of what we see and experience? 

If you consistently sow disappointment into your heart instead of embracing God’s truth, it can lead to the painful consequences of doubt, disillusionment, and bitterness, ultimately resulting in unbelief. Disappointment should never hinder your belief in Him. Even if you aren’t witnessing His promises in your life, God remains steadfast to His Word. It’s imperative to safeguard your heart from disappointment.

Regardless of any sickness or disappointing circumstance you encounter, don’t ever forsake the revelation of God’s goodness in Scripture and His covenant with you. Hasn’t His goodness and mercy surpassed anything you could ever earn or desire? During times of abundance and lack, God has always remained faithful and unwavering.

When faced with disappointment, we may be tempted to flee from God instead of fleeing from the enemy. When we do this, we play into the devil’s lies and confusion. A heart not surrendered to the Lord will struggle with issues it was never meant to confront. Our lives are already challenged enough without allowing mental and emotional confusion to guide us instead of faith in God’s goodness.

Never play into the enemy’s purpose to redefine God by what you experience in this life. It doesn’t matter if what you have gone through is good or bad. God is revealed in Scripture as perfectly good. He is better than you can think or imagine. It’s up to you to change the way you think so that you can delve into His goodness with all your heart and mind. Your faith must take possession of God’s Word. His truth must become your truth. If you are facing the pain of disappointment, there is no better time to explore the reality of God’s goodness.

If you don’t see God’s Word working in your life, God is still good. God didn’t send sickness for your benefit. That is an affront to the Gospel. You can’t believe for healing at the same time you believe the Father made you sick. That would be like having a divided house that cannot stand. Don’t compromise His truth by saying you believe it’s God will to heal, but He heals some and He doesn’t others. Spiritually seeing God’s truth as your own is essential to believing and ultimately receiving what God declares is true. Compromising His Word undermines His goodness and hinders His work in your life. God never surrenders to your definition of His truth if it is different from His Word.

The goodness of God is the foundation of our faith. A revelation of His goodness will feed your spirit, soul, and body. Your healing is not based on your goodness. Don’t ever speak defeat. Don’t be passive and give in to “what will be will be.” God’s Word is intentional. Are you? Keep believing. Keep putting His Word in your heart. God’s promises are true. He will use all things for His glory and your strength. 

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13, NKJV).

Have you lost heart? Keep putting His Word in your heart, and guarding it from doubt and unbelief. You can be confident of His good will toward you.

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15, NKJV).

Redeeming God's Gift

Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
—2 Tim. 1:9

God lives in eternity, but time was created specifically for man. While God has no beginning, time does. Time is a gift from God that allows Him to manifest His will in our lives. Time can be exchanged for all God has promised us. Before time began, God bestowed upon us purpose and grace. We can either redeem the time God has created for us or we can throw it away. 

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Some individuals use time to learn and grow, while others indulge in their desires. Some achieve success in life, while others become increasingly defeated. Some gain knowledge about God, His healing power, and His favor, while others grumble and complain.

We all have the same amount of time before us. Some are making the most of it, while others are wasting it. If you are asked where next year’s fruit will come from, you would say that it will come from this year’s seeds. The ingredients that produce fruit are seeds which contain the potential for future fruit, the soil that provides the life and growth necessary for fruit to thrive, and time.

A seed that is sown demands something from time, while a seed neglected wastes time.

Are you making the most of the time God has given you? The seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control within you hold the potential for your future. However, these seeds must be planted if you want to redeem your time.

There is time right now to build relationships, create opportunities, and prosper in health to fulfill your purpose. There is time to allow the Holy Spirit to work through you. Time can be wasted or used to shape your future. 

Look where we are in the time God has given us. Prophecy is being fulfilled right before our eyes. Are we redeeming the time God has given us or are we throwing what we have left away? Choose wisely.

A New Beginning

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 3:12-14

Paul had made a choice for his life. His purpose was to reach his full potential in Christ. He not only acknowledged that Jesus had “laid hold” of him but also recognized his own need to “lay hold” of his calling in Christ (Philippians 3:12). Jesus may have “laid hold” of Paul, but without Paul “laying hold” of his new life in Jesus, he would never reach his potential. To accomplish this, Paul chose to persevere, forget the past, and concentrate on his future. He resolved to “press on” toward the goal, driven by the promise of God’s upward call. 

Paul had four choices to make: (1) He had to press on toward his calling, persevering and never giving up. (2) He had to lay hold of it at all costs. (3) He had to forget the past that lay behind him, believing the past was no longer who he was. (4) He had to reach toward those things of God that, though unseen, were true and eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Rather than succumbing to complacency, Paul was propelled by the extraordinary grace of Jesus, which had transformed his life. He understood that forgiveness granted him a new beginning. Now, he had the opportunity to fulfill God’s calling and live an overcoming life. However, Paul faced a pivotal decision: to envision his future and take hold of his calling in Christ. He had to seize the new life Christ had bestowed upon him. Paul couldn’t settle for a passive existence. He yearned to work with the One who had forgiven him and given him new life.

Just like Paul, God has called you with a holy calling, that has nothing to do with your performance or your worthiness. He has called you to His own purpose because He wants to show you His grace. If you feel like giving up, you need to understand that it’s not your ability God wants. He wants your availability. If you’ve reached the end of your own strength, you’re a candidate for God’s grace. So come to the throne of grace.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Begin to offer the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15). Determine to praise God, regardless of your circumstances. Pray in the Spirit so God can build your faith (Jude 1:20). Give Him the opportunity to work and turn things around. Forget the past and press on! Forgiveness gives you a new beginning!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Does Your Heart Hear?

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 

"Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
 and seeing you will see and not perceive;
 for the hearts of this people have grown dull.
 Their ears are hard of hearing,
 and their eyes they have closed,
 lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
 lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
 so that I should heal them."

But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

—Matthew 13:13-17


In these verses, Jesus is referring to those who are unable to understand spiritual truth. Proverbs 4:20 says, “My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.”  Spiritual truths can only be understood if we “incline” our ears to God’s Word. The disciples didn’t understand about the miracle of the loaves when the five-thousand were fed because their hearts were hardened (Mark 6:52). What have we missed from the Lord because we were insensitive to it? If we fail to meditate upon spiritual truths, we will become spiritually dull of hearing or hardened to them.

Have you ever experienced a spiritual revelation in your heart, only to be surprised when other believers seem to miss it? Unfortunately, many believers are spiritually deaf. Even when spiritual truths are conveyed to them, those truths fail to be heard in their hearts.

Those who fail to spiritually understand God’s truth can’t understand it when it’s presented to them. As a result of their ignorance, they become resistant to it. A spiritual “dullness” keeps their hearts and minds from hearing God. The things of God become foolish to them (1 Corinthians 2:14).

“For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed” (Matthew 13:15).

I once had a limited hunger for God. My mind and heart had grown dull. The Word had taken too many years to penetrate my heart. Now I have an insatiable hunger to hear from the Lord—to know what He wishes to reveal to my heart. 

God’s Word sets us free, but many are living in bondage, ignorance, brokenness, and fear. They aren’t truly hearing the gospel with their hearts. I don’t want a dull mind and heart. I never want to return to ignorance and fear. I never want to let the revelation of His truth out of my sight. I’ll guard it deeply in my heart because, in finding it, it has become life to me (Proverbs 4:21-23).

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8).

A spiritual lack of hearing isn’t just a heart issue; it’s a sin issue. If we will draw near to God with a sincere heart, He will draw near to us. If we aren’t hearing God spiritually, it’s because of an impure or mixed heart. An impure heart doesn’t know what it believes because it’s not fixated on the truth. What it believes changes with circumstances. One moment it believes truth, and at another moment it doubts. James says an unstable man is double-minded in all his ways—that he should expect to receive nothing from the Lord (James 1:7-8).

God has created us to know Him—to be one-minded with Him. But some just never hear Him. Although God has persistently spoken to them through the Word and His servants, they have become dull of hearing (Jeremiah.25:4), fixated on their circumstances, and double-minded in all their ways.

Our hearts determine how we hear. Seeking God is how we hear Him speaking in our hearts. “You will seek me and find me,” God says, “when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Even though we are born again, we can still hold onto opposing beliefs in our hearts, and that indecisiveness can steal our capacity to hear God and be set free. It’s when we hear spiritual truth in our hearts that it begins to manifest in our lives. 

Your complete restoration of spirit, soul, and body is through Jesus’ atonement, but you must incline your hearts to hear Him. Are your ears blessed in hearing Him (Matthew 13:16)?  Keep seeking the Lord with a sincere, undivided heart, and you will hear the Holy Spirit revealing truth that transforms you.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15).

Expecting the Miraculous Testimony of Jesus

The following passage is taken from Charles Spurgeon, speaking in the Royal Surrey Gardens in London on July 17, 1859:

When people hear about what God used to do, one of the things they say is: “Oh, that was a very long while ago.” They imagine that times have altered since then. 

Says one: “I can believe anything about the Reformation–the largest accounts that can possibly be given, I can take in.” 

“And so could I concerning Whitefield and Wesley,” says another, “all that is quite true, they did labour vigorously and successfully, but that was many years ago. Things were in a different state then from what they are now.” 

Granted; but I want to know what the things have to do with it. I thought it was God that did it. Has God changed? Is He not an immutable God, the same yesterday, today and for ever? Does not that furnish an argument to prove that what God has done at one time He can do at another? 

I think I may push it a little further, and say what He has done once, is a prophecy of what He intends to do again–that the mighty works which have been accomplished in the olden time shall all be repeated, and the Lord’s song shall be sung again in Zion, and He shall again be greatly glorified.

Others among you say, “Oh, well I look upon these things as great wonders and miracles. We are not to expect them every day.” 

That is the very reason why we do not get them. If we had learnt to expect them, we should no doubt obtain them, but we put them up on the shelf, as being out of the common order of our moderate religion, as being mere curiosities of Scripture history. We imagine such things, however true, to be wonders of providence; we cannot imagine them to be according to the ordinary working of His mighty power.
____________________________

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).
 
Charles Spurgeon had a revelation. We obtain what we expect. The Hebrew word for testimony means “to do it again.” That is the purpose of a testimony—to share what God has done so He can do it again. The miracle someone has experienced is the testimony of Jesus. It must be expected to happen again. Charles Spurgeon got this. But do we get this? Will we, the church, ever see miracles as the ordinary working of God’s power? If only the church had heard Charles Spurgeon’s revelation in 1859! Perhaps it would be living a totally different reality now.

If you want to change the atmosphere in a room, share your personal testimony of God’s deliverance—not for your benefit, but to invite the Holy Spirit so He can change the atmosphere.

People love hearing the stories of what Jesus has done for others. They are captivated with them. Every story shared gives a glimpse of Jesus through the eyes of one who has been redeemed. They catch another revelation of His grace. 

Our testimonies are the record of a God who chooses to work through people who aren’t perfect. He just looks for people who value Him and will give Him an opportunity to do what He does best. He works in the impossible. 

In Mark 8:17-18, the disciples were bewildered by the challenge Jesus had given them to provide food they didn’t have to a huge hungry crowd. He asked them, “Do you not see? Do you not hear? Do you not remember?” God asks us the same. Sometimes, I don’t see what He’s doing. Other times I can’t hear what He’s saying. But there is one thing I can always do. I can remember what’s He’s done. That I can do!

The things I remember God has done in my life before, He’s in the process of doing now.  I may not see or hear clearly, but remembering what the Lord has done tells me that He’s doing it again.

Signs and wonders are meant to be ordinary occurrences as they were in the days of the early church. But we don’t see miracles everyday because we don’t expect them.

Heather Bowden posted on Facebook yesterday: “If you live a life of expectancy, whether they're good, bad or neutral you get what you expect. I live expecting blessings and I receive blessings upon blessings. Change your expectations and watch God work.”

If we want to see the miraculous in our lives, we must stop seeing it as rare. We must change our vision to believe and expect it. What God has done in the past, He’s in the process of doing now. If I’ll change my expectation, I’ll see God move miraculously. This is my journey. I’m expecting the miraculous testimony of Jesus.

Stand Steadfast in Faith

 

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
— James 1:6

The devil will try to undermine your faith when you face a challenging situation. However, in this critical moment when the enemy is most intimidating, you have a choice to make. You can either give up or stand your ground. You can refuse to relinquish your position of faith. 

Don’t feel condemned when you fail to maintain your faith in challenging  situations. Let James’ message from the Lord encourage you, not condemn you. To overcome a challenging situation or a persistent obstacle, you must take a courageous stand in faith and remain unwavering.

Even though what you pray aligns with God’s will, that doesn’t guarantee a quick or easy answer. There’s a devil who comes against it. But not only that. You struggle with your own flesh, which desires comfort and hates challenges. Your faith requires greater growth because God wishes you to reach a higher level.

Faith isn’t being undecided or unsure. Faith believes. It stands steadfast, never moving or wavering. In James 1:6, James describes the unwavering attitude a believer must maintain when he asks God for something: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubt. For he that doubts is like a wave of the sea driven driven and tossed by the wind.”

In James 1:6 is we learn that we must “ask.” The Greek word used for “ask” indicates that we are to be firm and resolute in requesting assistance to meet our needs. We need to be so confident in what we request that we boldly pray with the assurance that we wil receive it.

James says that we must ask “in faith.” The Greek language places emphasis on the word “in.”  The phrase “in faith” designates a position you are locked into. In other words, this person who is “in faith” is praying from a firm and immovable position. He is praying from an unwavering belief. He knows God’s promise, and he isn’t going to change. He is utterly determined and refuses to settle for anything less than what he believes. Nothing is going to shake or move him.

James 1:6 also states that we must ask in faith and not “doubt.” The Greek word for “doubt” reveals a person who disagrees with himself.  You may be saying all the right words, but your heart may not really agree. You may be confessing all the right things without truly believing them. Until your heart and mouth line up, you’re not truly asking in faith. We must ask with hearts that agree with the words we speak.

This verse teaches that if we aren’t asking “in faith”—if we aren’t praying from a position of unwavering faith—we are like a wave of the sea. Waves are spectacular, but they always recede. Similarly, a person who lacks unwavering faith may appear or sound confident when they pray. However, just like a wave of the sea, if their prayers and desires are constantly changing, they aren’t in a position to receive God’s blessings.

James 1:7 instructs,:“Let not that man suppose that he shall receive anything from the Lord.” God wants to bless us, but if we don’t stay “in faith” long enough, we won’t receive the answer to our prayer. When we don’t stand firmly in a position of faith, we find ourselves vacillating constantly, just like the waves, changing from one prayer request to another prayer request over the same issue. When a small amount of pressure comes, we doubt, and change again. This is not what God wants for us. Faith knows. It stands, believing, no matter what Satan or the flesh or the world declares is true. 

What have you experienced? Perhaps this is one reason your prayer hasn’t been answered. Do you often change your mind or waver in doubt? Perhaps you haven’t fully committed yourself to steadfastly stand in faith for that particular need. Sometimes, it takes years to see the result of your prayers. If you’re moving around and wavering in your faith all the time, you make it difficult for God to bless you. This is why it’s imperiative to focus and be firmly committed.

What is in your heart? Do you believe? Can you truthfully confess, “I’m believing God for this answer to manifest,  and I’m not moving from my stand of faith?” If you can, you position yourself as someone God can bless.

Don’t be tossed around by the enemy, your challenges, or the opinions of others. Be steadfast, asking in faith without wavering. Never vacillate. Let patience have its perfect work. Remain confident that you will see your answer come to pass because your faith is based upon God’s Word, and His Word is His will. Profess the hope of your answer today and everyday until the will of God is manifested in your life (Hebrews 10:23).

God is faithful. Through patience and faith, you inherit His promise. (Hebrews 6:12).

Through Faith

 

Have you ever faced a problem and sought God’s intervention to solve it? Yet, deep within your heart, you heard Him ask, “What are you going to do about it?”

This question reminds me of 2 Peter 1:3:

“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”

God has provided me with all the things I need to navigate any situation in life. Through knowledge of Him, who has called me “by glory and virtue,” I possess all that pertains to living a godly life, confidently handling any challenging issue. Vision and faith play a crucial role in many aspects of life, and God has already taken care of His part. In Christ, He has gifted us with everything we need. However, the challenge lies in our lack of understanding and acknowledgment of the Word He has given us.

Are you struggling with a broken relationship, a poor health report, or financial difficulties? Sometimes, our religious response is to implore God to intervene instead of employing the promises He has already given in His Word. However, God is my Father, not a distant, hands-off God that must be convinced to provide something He has already given. I have a relationship with Him. He patiently waits for me to believe His Word, pray His will, step out of the place I have settled, and act on the faith He has given me. 

Life and death are in the power of the words we speak (Proverbs 18:21). Have you spoken healing and provision to your need?

Have you prayed for and forgiven those who have wronged you (Matthew 5:44-45)?

Have you honored God with your giving and sowed it in faith (Proverbs 3:9-10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-11)?

Have you resisted the enemy (James 4:7)?

Have you spoken to the mountains in your life and believed you have received victory (Mark 11:22-24)?

Far too often, we become complacent and even fatalistic in the face of life’s circumstances; we just give up. Some people resort to imploring God for intervention, only to become upset when the problems persist. Instead of trusting in God’s promises and stepping out in faith expecting to receive His promise, we often sit back and just wait on His divine intervention to resolve our issues. 

What if God is patiently waiting for us to take that first step of faith? 

The heavens, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men (Psalm 115:16).

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet (Psalm 8:6).

God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). As the Creator, they are His. However, God gave dominion of the earth to man (Genesis 1:28). He placed the earth under man’s authority, and man gave away his authority to Satan (Romans 6:16). God Himself could not intervene in what man had done, but when God came in the flesh as Jesus, Satan faced His defeat. God had become a man and, as such, had power and authority to execute judgment on the earth (John 5:27). And He did, destroying Satan’s dominion, returning it to man, and giving us authority over all the works of the enemy.  

For many of us, it’s time to break free from our passiveness, embrace faith, and exercise the authority Jesus has returned to us. Without faith, we can’t please the Lord (Hebrews 11:6).

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith (1 John 5:4).

The faith you have received is born of God; it overcomes whatever you face in life. But for faith to overcome, it must be used. It may be as small as a mustard seed, but when you use it, your life will be powerfully transformed. 

Restoration is yours in Jesus Christ. Jesus has done all He can to restore you to an intimate relationship with the Father, complete with all its inherent blessings. Peter understood restoration (John 21: 15-19). He wrote that God's divine power has given us all we need to experience an overcoming and victorious life. Through faith, you enter into the abundant life Jesus has purchased on your behalf, taking by force what is no longer the enemy’s (Matthew 11:12). 

Jesus has restored all of you.

Embrace Righteousness

“Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart” (Psalm 97:11, KJV).

Your understanding of your right standing with God will provide guidance and direction in your life. Those who live for the flesh are consumed by fear and guilt and will find it difficult to make sound decisions. On the other hand, those who embrace righteousness are blessed with light and gladness. 

Righteousness is the grace of God that enables us to stand in His presence without guilt or fear. It’s the knowledge that Jesus resides within us, empowering us to be good. It’s the belief that despite our imperfections, God has chosen us in Christ and loves us unconditionally. This heartfelt peace with God will serve as a guiding light in your life.

“The way of the righteous is made plain” (Proverbs 15:19, KJV). “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18), KJV).

The freedom that comes from your spiritual understanding of your righteousness in Christ is profound. God has granted us His very nature, and this nature dispels confusion and doubt. When you comprehend your identity in Christ, you become guided by the Spirit. Instead of your flesh, your true self in Christ determines your actions and circumstances no longer control your life.

“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers” (1 Peter 3:12, NKJV).

Those who embrace righteousness live in the presence of God. Effective prayer is the fruit of your righteous relationship with Him. Living with religious guilt can hinder your prayer life, while embracing your righteousness in Jesus can fuel it.

How can you discern if you’re walking in righteousness? You’ll experience inner peace. You’ll have peace with God and peace of mind no matter life’s problems and challenges. You’ll recognize that your God is for you, guiding and blessing your life.

Jesus didn’t come to condemn you. He came to give you a right relationship with God. Guilt and condemnation will only fuel your flesh.

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Philippians 3:12, NKJV).

Press on, growing in your understanding that you are the of righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Lay hold of its peace. Embrace righteousness, and let it guide your life.

God's Love Perfected In Me

You can’t control the attitudes and actions of others, but you can control how you respond. Whether you withdraw into your hurt and disappointment or lash out at the person who has hurt you, you’re only fostering uncertainty and distrust. As a Christian, you’re called to a higher level of peace in your relationships with others. God wants to heal the part of your your heart that has been hardened from those who have disappointed and hurt you. If you open your heart to the Word of God, you’ll discover that God’s love empowers you to navigate difficult relationships and the issues that may arise.

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set your mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6 ESV).

What we set out minds on is crucial. Do we respond to our flesh or to the Spirit? We aren’t meant to act like the world. We are meant to seek God’s presence and His wisdom so that we overflow with His love. We’re not only called to survive difficult relationships; we are called to bring peace and life into them. We’re called to live at a level where others are so amazed by the Holy Spirit that they want to seek God’s help in their own relationships.

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love” (1 John 4:17, NLT).

Being perfected in God’s love is maturing in our faith. As we are being perfected, we are growing into the knowledge and assurance of our relationship with Christ and the depth of His love for us. 

It’s critical that we remain open and positive in our relationships so we can mature in His love. If we allow fear to control us, we will fail to connect with other people. Jesus calls us to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-14), so we cannot let fear isolate us. We are called to bring others to the Word, God’s love revealed to us in Christ.

Just as fear destroys faith, the love of God destroys fear. To get rid of fear, you must continually grow in your knowledge and understanding of God’s love for you. Fear is nothing but absolute torment; it paints pictures of a troubled future that is full of pain and disappointment. These images often come from old wounds and failures that, without an understanding of God’s love, have never healed. When you seek the Spirit’s understanding of God’s love, He speaks life and peace to you. He paints images of great hope in your mind. When you set your mind on the Lord, you begin to trust His love for the good future He has promised (Jeremiah 29:11). You discover His help when you need it the most.

No matter your trouble or uncertainty, God’s calls you to peace. Whatever your turmoil, it doesn’t need to rob you of joy and peace. God’s love is yours, and the Holy Spirit guards your peace. You can bring the Holy Spirit with you into any troublesome relationship, speaking God’s truth and imparting peace. Keeping your mind on the Spirit will stop the flesh from mastering you. God’s love will help you control your emotions, and you will start to speak life and peace into troubled relationships and hurting people.

When the love of God defeats fear, the attitudes and actions of others lose the power to control our feelings and manipulate our  lives. God’s love is perfected in us. We mature in His grace. His love reaches our inner being, and taking root there, becomes the wellspring of life from which the fruit of the Spirit can flow. He speaks life and peace into us and our relationships. 

I want to fully experience God’s love, changing my life. I want to receive wisdom and spiritual insight as I grow in my knowledge of Him. I long to release Jesus into the lives of those who are missing the blessings of His love. But just wanting isn’t enough. I’m called to co-labor with the Spirit so He can live through me. I must cast off the flesh’s fears, hurts, and disappointments, and walk in the Spirit, knowing that God’s love expressed through my life can bring life and peace to hurting people.
 

Don't Be Afraid

Fear is the greatest barrier to our faith.

“While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, ‘Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.’ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well’” (Luke 8:49-50).

Jesus made it abundantly clear to Jairus that his daughter’s healing depended not on his fear but on his believing. Fear and faith cannot exist together. They are incompatible.

How often have we known God’s will, mentally believed it, spoken of it as ours, and, yet, not seen our promise? The underlying issue is fear.

Many Christians express fear when they’re sick or facing a bad diagnosis. They know God’s will concerning their health, and they are hopeful that they might receive healing, but within their heart is a fear that is eroding their faith.

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying” (Hebrews 2:14-15, NLT).

The fear of dying is the fear from which all other fears grow. When the fear of death is destroyed, the bondage of other fears is also destroyed. Jesus broke the power of death. You’re no longer a slave to fear. You can be free to appreciate life, experiencing God’s peace, joy, and love. This is an environment where faith can come to life.

There is no reason to fear dying. Isn’t death just passing from here into the very presence of God, the essence of eternal Love, where there is unspeakable joy? Those who fear death choose to be a slave to every other fear, and when you live in fear, you have no abundant life.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

Just as fear destroys faith, love destroys fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Fear is torment, but knowing the love of God releases you from its torment. Do you truly know God loves you? The perfect love of God casts out fear. If you are living in fear and not receiving the benefit of your faith, the love of God is your solution.

Even thought I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I can know the perfect love of God that casts out fear and all evil (Psalm 23:4). 

I'm loved, and fear has no power in my life.