Love – doubt = Perfect Love
1 John 4:17-19 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 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. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
I heard a powerful sermon yesterday on doubt. Doubt is really fear; fear of the unknown, of the unsure, of the uncertain. Doubt is a powerful tool of Satan, for it settles in slowly and takes root. It can gradually grow and effect the outer self. We move in relation to our faith and fears; we act on what we believe. Fear is never a tool of God, fear is always a tool of Satan. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. My mental strain is a great burden these days, the weight of it commands my thoughts during the day, and Satan sneaks into them with doubt and fear. It is a constant warring in my head of the battle of good and evil. It seems so hard some days…….
John is speaking of the power of love; the power of the security of our future wrapped up in that love. The boldness that we should know and feel in the security of our Salvation in Christ. We should have no fear if we rest in that perfect love that is eternally promised. Our lives here will be full of disappointments in people, careers, friends, society, ____________, you can make your own list. When we begin to place our hope in these things we will surely be disappointed. But when we place our hope in our love for Christ; these disappointments should become expected and trivial. They are nothing but distractions to take our eyes off Christ.
The way to fight these fears is found in the Bible. The Word of God is the only offensive weapon that we have against Satan. Christ set that example for us when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days (Luke 4:1-13). The more time you spend in God’s Word, the stronger your faith becomes and the more power He gives you to fight these fears. Your heart is moved to a place of thanksgiving, and love is grown out of that thankful heart. That love completes the circle to enable you the power to fight those fears. You begin to see verse 19 We love Him because He first loved us. Thank you Jesus.
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