God the Father Casts Out Fear

"We reviewed our fears thoroughly. We put them on paper, even though we had no resentment in connection with them. We asked ourselves why we had them. Wasn't it because self-reliance failed us? Self-reliance was good as far as it went, but it didn't go far enough. Some of us once had great self-confidence, but it didn't fully solve the fear problem, or any other. When it made us cocky, it was worse.

"Perhaps there is a better way - we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity.

"We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness. Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear." (AA, pg 68)

To understand the perfect love of God. we must see Him as more than "our Creator".

We must receive Him as our Father based on covenant.

David understood God in terms of covenant. That's why he stood up to the Giant Goliath, knocking him down with one smooth stone:

"Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

"This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel." (1 Samuel 17: 45-46)

David did not refer to God as "God", but as "LORD", indicating the covenant that He made with father Abraham, based on faith! (see Genesis 15: 1-6)

Every believer today can enter into a better covenant with God, based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Through His death, we pass from death in our sins to life in righteousness, which breaks us free of every fear:

"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (Romans 8: 10)

Then:

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8: 15-17)

When you see yourself as adopted into the family of God, when you see God as your Father, through Christ, or more intimately as your "Daddy" ("Abba" is Hebrew for "Daddy"), you have no reason to fear, for God the Father is watching out for you:

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)

The more you see Jesus, the more that you see yourself in Him, as a child beloved of God, then every fear will be cast out of your life!