Inventories, Fear, and God's Perfect Love

This struggle has been one of the greatest sources of trouble in my life, and I imagine the same is true for many people who have been taken through the AA wringer of inventories, confessions, and the rest.

I had a fear problem for the greater part of my life -- if I was jumpy about something, about anything, if I had a foreboding sense about life, I went with the "program" which made it my fault, and therefore something that I had to do something about:

Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code. (AA, pg 84)

Yet the Bible teaches that fear is not something that exists within the believer, per se, but is a Spirit:

"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." (Romans 8: 15)

and

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1: 7)

Fear is a spirit, and thus we need the Spirit, which we receive by the Word of God, to deal with fear.

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6: 63)

If we are trying to reason out our fears, then we are still trying to accomplish through our flesh what His love does:

"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)

This perfect love is not something that we do, but something that God has done through His Son, who won the victory over sin and death at Calvary:
"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)

Yet it is "perfect love" that casts out fear. John completes this truth:

"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 has transformed us into sons of God, and we are growing more like Him:

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 John 3: 1)

and then

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

"And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." (1 John 3: 2-3)

God's love, not our inventory taking, not our turning our thoughts resolutely toward helping others, not anything that we do, will remove fear from our lives!

God is love (1 John 4: 16), and His perfected love, not just toward us, but what this love turns us into, casts out every fear.

And how is "Jesus" now? He is not on a Cross dying, but sitting at the right hand of the Father, reigning:

"1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)

And

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

Instead of looking at ourselves, trying to think our way out of the fears in our lives, let us receive the righteousness that we have been made in Christ, and His righteousness and grace both enable us to reign in life (Romans 5: 17).

Forget the inventories, stop focusing on the fear, and let God's perfect love live in you!