1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Isaiah 60:1-2 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
Ever since the Garden of Eden where the story began and our first parents sinned, fear has permeated humankind. The fracturing of relationships, God to man, man to man, man to woman, engendered a universal pandemic of fear and alienation. Fear supplied the Adversary, Satan ("satan" means adversary in Hebrew) with a powerful means for control, manipulation, and deception of fallen humanity, with nearly infinite varieties of expression.
In this light, 1 John 4:18 is perhaps one of the most significant and profound statements in all of scripture, and one which we do well to memorize, meditate upon, and pray into. "There is no fear in love..." In a sense we could say that fear is the greatest enemy of love. If love is our goal, if God is love and we seek to be like Him, then fear must be acknowledged and banished from our motivations. This may not be easy, but is a worthy and entirely possible approach.
Whatever causes fear in us will be a test; it will bring out our best...or worst response. The emotional or even physical reaction of "fight" or "flight" will threaten to overwhelm my connection with God's Spirit within. If I allow fear to manipulate or control me and drive me into a reactive mode rather than a responsive Spirit-controlled one, love will evaporate. This reaction to fear might simply be expressed by another F-E-A-R acronym, Forget Everything And Run....or Fight Everything And Ram.
But how about Face Everything And Rise!!! Those who do will reveal the growing perfection in love which is our inheritance in Messiah Yeshua. Where love is made perfect fear is cast out! With fear conquered we are equipped to be light in the darkness because the Holy Spirit in us will not be quenched from revealing the glory of God through us.
Can you imagine a more perfect time in these days of growing darkness to take this word to heart? Can you begin to fathom the opportunity to rise above your fears and to reveal the glory of God? How to do it? Cast anxieties on Him;
[1 Peter 5:7]; pray and supplicate with thanksgiving; [Philippians 4:6]; if you lack wisdom, ask with faith; [James 1:5-6]; let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; [Colossians 3:16];" fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul;[Matthew 10:28]". Face and rise above your fear now, today. The glory of the LORD will arise upon you.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A United States Army officer who trained pupils at Fort Sill for over 20 years once described the different qualities of the students during the two decades of his tenure. During the 1950’s, he observed the students’ attitude as being so lax that the instructors had trouble keeping their students awake during their lectures. This drastically changed in the mid 1960’s. The students began taking meticulous notes and absorbing every word of instruction. So, what changed?
As we continue to celebrate the God-ordained Feast of Tabernacles — this is a prophetic feast, and one which will be kept by all the people of the world in the coming age. In resurrected bodies, we will be celebrating this feast, year to year in Jerusalem during the millennial reign of Yeshua (Jesus)! Can you imagine it — celebrating with the King of Kings! If that’s not something to anticipate, I’m not sure what is!
The Lord is quoted in this scripture in Matthew. It contains an important principle which believers sometimes tend to overlook. Many believe and even teach that if you’re blessed, your life will be filled with material prosperity, and that if you are undergoing extreme trial, it must be because you have sinned or that you lack faith. The Lord says that the sun rises and the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous alike.
Abraham’s rescue of Lot and his household from the four Mesopotamian Kings in the middle of the night was an act of holy chutzpah! Israel’s first patriarch demonstrated great faith, courage, family loyalty, and military strategy during this successful rescue operation.
This Sunday night people from around the world will celebrate Yom Kippur. In Israel, nothing, absolutely nothing is open — no radio, television or cable, even the street lights don’t work!
On Monday, we talked about “tashlich” — the traditional Jewish ceremony occurring between Rosh ha Shana and Yom Kippur, which involves casting bread crumbs into a river while confessing our sins and watching them be swept downstream. In this passage, however, we read about the importance of casting our crowns. These elders fell down before the Lord, casted their golden crowns and gave God the glory and honor He deserves. How much more should we do the same today?
When my family and I were re-deployed to the United States during the Covid outbreak, all my plans were wrecked. I had planned becoming a licensed tour guide in Israel, allowing the ministry to continue while my kids would serve in the Israeli army for three years. Instead, I’m looking back at 150,000 miles of cross country driving throughout the US, and 350 speaking/ministry engagements. “…Man plans his way…” but, stuff happens, and sometimes we simply need to adjust. So, the adventure continues…