And How Not To Tie Yourself In Knots When Things Are Genuinely Alarming
Fear has a lot to answer for! It’s horrible, it’s consuming, it’s distracting, it’s paralysing, it’s bad-health inducing – and it’s normal. Arguably, there is plenty to fear. There is always something in the news with the potential of inducing anxiety, such as the rise of ungovernable AI, conflict escalation and civil unrest, or ungodly leaders at the helm. Then most of us have issues in our own lives which might generate fear – be they financial, relational, health-related or performance-based. I could go on, but I won’t as it’s starting to get a bit overwhelming and that really wasn’t the plan!
I have been experiencing the rise of fear in my life. The news, conversations with friends, opinions on social media… can all leave me feeling distinctly uneasy about national and world affairs, and sometimes I consider checking to see if there are any listings on Rightmove for small, deserted tropical islands that are off the grid! I mean how much could they really be – with poor transport links and a distinct lack of local amenities, they’d have to be a steal, right?
But I am also aware that as a Christian, we have reasons to hope in the face of these reasons to fear – so why are these fears still getting a grip?
There is a verse that says, “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18) which came to mind as I contemplated fear’s unwelcome rise in my life – and I suddenly saw I had been reading it all wrong and I hadn’t been finding it the comfort that it could be.
I was reading it almost like a challenge – that as God has perfect love which drives out fear and I still experience fear, I am falling short. It was more ‘Perfect faith drives out fear’ with the emphasis on my faith and it needing to be perfect. The onus was on me to make it better – to be who He wanted me to be – how else was I ever to be a fearless servant, boldly changing the world for Him? Clearly, I was striking out.
Then came another fear – that if any of the things I was fearing actually came to pass – I was anxious that I would not respond well in God’s sight. So, my fears of genuinely alarming situations had been leading to new fears of failing in the eyes of God. Fear was truly on the up. Oh boy.
It’s easy to fall back into a work-based mentality of earning favour with God – especially since we are so accustomed to our performance-based culture where success dictates worth. As a result, the concept of grace and His acceptance being a free gift, undeserved and unearned, doesn’t always stay firmly rooted in our hearts.
However, a wonderful irony about the faulty interpretation of that verse was that when John wrote it, he was talking to this very issue. The verse was about punishment and judgment – and not needing to fear it! How on the day of judgment, we can have confidence before God – because we are like Him – and He sees Jesus in us. We get His righteousness in the place of our rubbish.
The verse was intended to put my heart at ease in the knowledge that because God’s love is so perfect, I have been made right before Him. However, I was interpreting it as an indicator of my shortcomings and allowing it to stoke a fear of not being right before Him!
I am aware that I am particularly adept at overthinking and generally getting myself in a muddle, but I wonder if there are not others amongst us with a similar tendency? I think sometimes as Christians, we take upon ourselves the burden of not feeling fear, with that sense of I ought to know better and my foundations ought to be more secure, and then tie ourselves in anxious knots when our emotions don’t helpfully fall in line.
It is His perfect love that drives out fear. Not me. Not you. If we are fearful, we are not in trouble with Him because of that. We do not need to fear condemnation for our shortcomings – including when our fears creep in. John is talking about having confidence before God on judgment day – and if we can have confidence before Him on that day, we can have confidence before Him on any day – even today, when I am feeling fearful. I can come and tell Him that.
It’s an invitation. The Bible is full of wonderful invitations to come and receive something that will give fullness of life – and this is one of those times. His love is perfect and a quick look at 1 Corinthians 13 tells us more about this love. As I contemplated this passage, it spoke directly to that secondary fear of mine – the one where I was fearful that I was falling short due to being fearful! (Cue face plant!)
“Love is patient, love is kind… it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs… It always protects, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
God is love. That’s His love for us, for eternity. God’s not in this for Himself. He’s not short-tempered with us – He’s not giving up on us. He’s not keeping a record of my wrongs. He’s got this – He’s got me. My eternal future is not dependent upon my efforts, but on His love. What a gift. And I am secure in that love because it all rests upon the nature of the One that loves and the nature of that love – and both are perfect, and not upon the nature of the one who is loved, who has a little way yet to go before perfection…!
I saw that as my fears about failing God began to fall away, so also my fears at potential calamities were losing their grip.
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Romans 8:31-32
The wonder of God’s willingness to lay down His life for our sakes tells us of the immensity of His love for us, and if He is willing to do that, surely, He will be there for us when we need Him in other ways too? If He would give so much – we can trust Him in whatever we face today or may face tomorrow.
Just as my fears had been built up, so God’s love dismantled them. So, if and when I feel fear, then perhaps I need help grasping this love. Afterall, why else would Paul pray for people to have the power to fully comprehend it – if not because doing so goes beyond our normal capacity?
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:17-19
Clearly, we need help getting our heads around its enormity – it is immeasurably big!
“But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16: 33
He did it. Not me. Not you. And I for one am going to pray for the power to understand His love and what He has accomplished. Then I am going to meditate on His love – because I’ve had enough of all this fear, and I need His help to live without it.
Ask Him to show you how much He loves you. Soak in it. Rest in His love.
It’s not that bad stuff won’t happen. Bad stuff does happen – but we aren’t alone when it does. He’s got us- we are His, and His love never fails.
Whatever happens, our ultimate home is in Him and that is non-negotiable.
He invites us to come to Him and to know His love. For fears may rise, but fears can fall – and in His love, they will.