Refuse to live in fear (3)

When God says, ‘Fear not,’ He is basically telling you, ‘You’re going to have to deal with fear, but you can conquer it. You can act in spite of it.’ The Bible says, ‘Perfect love casts out fear.’ Sometimes we mistakenly think that Scripture means if we love God perfectly enough, we won’t be afraid. No, the only perfect love is God’s love for you. And it’s unconditional. Knowing that He always loves you, walks with you, defends you, supports you, and has promised to bless you in all that you do is what casts out your fear. And it does one more thing: it strengthens your faith. ‘Without faith it is impossible to please [God]’ (Hebrews 11:6 KJV). When you know that God is pleased with you, you begin to rise above your fears. When fear knocks on your door and finds you full of faith, it cannot enter. That’s why you need to meditate continually on God’s Word and let your conversation be filled with faith. If you’re used to allowing your mind to go everywhere it pleases, meditating on God’s Word will require making a new habit. Don’t become discouraged if you discover you have good intentions but many failures. The Bible says, ‘We walk by faith’ (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV). How did you learn to walk? By getting up one more time than you fell down, until you finally did it. When you set your mind to speaking fear-defying words of faith, the Holy Spirit will come to your aid and strengthen you. As one minister says, ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, it is progress in its presence.’ So just keep progressing, and you will get there!