The love of God within
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 1 John 4:16-18
God knows how much each one needs the constant assurance that everything will be fine. Circumstances and difficult trials in life could be overwhelming. The uncertainty and looming catastrophic events that could happen in the future could create panic in the present. The fear of failure could lead one to not experience emotional stability. The fear of death could also be paralyzing that could affect decision-making. From the passage, God through the Apostle John provided an assurance that once you are in the love of God His presence will cast out fear. Once you place your trust in His love, God lives in you and His “perfect love expels all fear.” When the disciples experienced a powerful storm when they were out in the sea, they started to get fearful. In their fear, they overlooked that the Lord Jesus Christ was with them in the boat. When their boat started to get filled with water, they went to Jesus to wake Him up. Jesus woke up and commanded the storm to stop. “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39). Then He turned to His disciples and asked them, ““Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). Their courage was overtaken by fear when they realized that their boat could sink. Jesus’ question to them about their fear was connected to their lack of faith. It is not abnormal to have fears when things seemed to be not working well in life but when your faith in God grows, fears will start to subside and diminish. As your faith in God grows, you realize that God alone is in control. The Holy Spirit within will not let you become paralyzed with fear. “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children” (Romans 8:15). The same Spirit will provide you assurance that no matter what you go through in life, nothing can separate you from the love of God. “Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ...No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-38). If you really trust Him, nothing is impossible for Him. If He could calm the storm and command the raging sea to be still, He could provide the peace that your troubled heart needs.
Blessings.
