His Love -- The Antidote to 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)

Reviewing our fears merely revives them, never removes them.

I have lived this "fear-reviewing" process time and again, and the fears would never go away.

The Bible provides the perfect antidote to fear: God's perfect love:

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4: 18)

I cannot stress this enough -- it is "perfect love" that casts out fear. In the original text, "perfected" or "completed" love would be the proper translation.

What is this perfect love, exactly?

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 10)

God sending His own Son to die on the Cross for all of us: that is love. Of course, there is the verse in the Gospel of John, which everyone, believer or not, knows by heart:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. " (John 3: 16)

"God is love" is meaningless without a sure, sign, a clear token, of this love, and that is the Cross. John explains how this love is perfected in the believer:

"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)

This love, through Jesus' death and resurrection, then gives to every believer the same standing before God that Jesus Christ has. In effect, by faith in His name, we becomes children of God:

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1: 12-13)

The more that we esteem God's sacrifice for us, taking us from death to life, witness as every fear in your life is expelled!