I’m afraid of a lot of things, spiders and bugs being at the very top of the list. I’m afraid that if I don’t study my Bible enough, our Abba Father won’t love me. I’m afraid that my beautiful daughter will be attacked while walking home alone in the dark. I’m afraid that my son won’t find his way back to the Father and be lost forever. I’m afraid that my husband won’t return from a trip to Africa and my dad will stop remembering me because of Alzheimer’s. I could go on writing this list, but I won’t. Dwelling on a list of fears is not healthy!
I think, perhaps, that my journey with anxiety started as a young teenager at school. Report cards—the sound of those two words still fills me with dread, knowing that when my Dad saw those grades, there would be big trouble. The days of skipping classes and not doing my homework were recorded on a page that my Father held in his hand; my sin had found me out. I dreaded the punishment that I knew would follow.
When you are afraid, fear begins to paralyze you. Anxiety incapacitates you. Distress immobilizes you. You cannot walk forward if you are letting fear take root in your soul. “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” (1 John 4:18).
I’ve read this Scripture before, but this time it made me do a double take, changed my thinking; it penetrated my soul and spirit, my joints and marrow, so sharp was this word from the Lord. “Fear has to do with punishment!” Fear whispers in your ear the very worst possible outcome. It shouts its bitterness and poison into your spirit until your mind plays over and over again its sulfurous synopsis. Fear tells you that your father won’t love you—it tells you of an angry God waiting to pour out the fire of judgement upon your head. Fear tells you that you cannot trust the Lord in all things, that you cannot believe in His promises, His goodness, His kindness, and His perfect love.
Several years ago, the Lord spoke to me about letting fear overwhelm me. I worried so much that I was wrapped up in great chains of anxiety. Our great Redeemer showed me His incredible love, His glorious grace, and tender mercies. He showed me that He had a plan to break off every chain of apprehension, that fear of punishment, that cycle of imagining the worst possible outcome.
I had a wonderful opportunity to travel to Israel, and while I was there I was baptized in the Sea of Galilee, the very place where Peter walked on water, where Peter had begun to sink into the depths because of his fear (Matt. 14:29-31). Fear took hold of Peter’s heart when he saw the ferocity of the wind, when he saw what he was up against. He was afraid of a disastrous outcome, and so he began to sink.
How often, when we stop having faith, focusing on the problem and not on Jesus, do we begin to sink deeper and deeper into the muck and the mire of our own anxious thoughts? Jesus is right there, hand outstretched, ready to pull you back into the boat. I love how this Scripture says, “immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him” (Matt. 14:31, emphasis mine).
If we take our eyes off the storm and fully trust our Sovereign God, there will be no fear of punishment. If we concentrate on His goodness, we will not be afraid of the outcome, but will know that He will always work all things together for good (Rom. 8:28). If we rely on His perfect love, we will know that we can leave our loved ones in His hands. No matter what we are walking through, we need never be afraid, He is walking beside us, showing us the way, ready to catch us if we begin to sink. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
The Great I Am will give you strength in your weakness, He will give you hope and encouragement, He will give you the ability to move beyond your paralysis and walk forward. He will bring you to a place where there is no fear of punishment, no fear of the outcome, just faith and hope in His perfect love, in His plan for your life!
“Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). The One who paid it all loves you so completely that He has already taken your punishment. Take heart, rest in His perfect love for you. God is not a God sitting angrily on His throne waiting to shell out retribution the moment you put a foot out of line. In fact, He already knows you will fall, you will sin, and you will stumble. But, in His great mercy, in His great love, He sent Jesus to pay the price, to take that sin to the cross, for you.
When our wonderful Abba Father gets your report card, all He sees is A-plus, well done, and great work! Washed by the blood of a Savior, all the bad marks are redeemed by the perfect love of our Jesus. We need not live in fear. The love of Jesus cleanses, purifies, and makes us holy, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish. He puts a fine robe upon your back and a ring on your finger (Luke 15:22). He is the lifter of your head, He is the one who gives you confidence, and boldness to stand before your Father, made perfect in His love.
~ By Claire Scott. Claire is the prayer coordinator for International Cooperating Ministries, a global church developer in Virginia. Additionally, she spent over 30 years in Africa developing a deep love for the continent and its people. She has two children and a granddaughter. You can follow Claire at on her blog My Prayer.
