- (1 John 4:18 NLT)

Fear is an incredibly powerful force. It drives us to do things we would never consider under normal circumstances. When fear has its cruel hand on our heart’s wheel, we’ll make disastrous financial, relational, vocational, and even spiritual decisions. Look back on your own life. How many bad choices have you made because you were fearful of something or someone?

Sometimes, fear can have such a stranglehold on us that we feel unable to break free from it. We see the negative in everything, we can’t celebrate in anything, and before we know it we’ve lost our opportunity to experience life as God intended.

How has God intended us to live? The answer is "in love." God wants our experience in this world to be dominated by love, and in 1 John 4:18 we see that "Love has no fear" and "expels all fear." As powerful as fear is, it’s a 90-pound weakling when compared to love. In a sense, we can say that fear is afraid of love. 

There’s a lot of therapy and talk these days about overcoming your fears. Here’s one sure-fire, can’t miss, way to get over your fears...be filled with God’s love. When love moves into your heart, fear has to move out.

Imagine your greatest fear...maybe your palms are sweating even now as you think about it. Whatever it is, God’s love is so much greater. Perhaps the fear of something or someone has had you paralyzed for years. Maybe fear has you convinced that "you can’t and you never will." God’s love can set you free from that, and it will when you ask Him to pour His love out upon your life. 

What is your greatest fear?

What steps will you take to overcome it?