I have felt the searing blaze of fear.
Afraid
Of not being who others wanted me to be
Of failing to give them what they "needed"
Or rather what they wanted.
It has only been in the last few years
That I have been able to put that fear aside a little
And only very recently
that that raging fire of fear has been reduced
to a small, still-hot ember
ready to burst into flames again at a single breath.
God does not want me to fear.
How many times has He said, "Be not afraid!"
"Be strong and courageous!"
To fear only Him
Or rather, revere Him
As a small child fears and reveres, yet loves
A loving, kind Father.
His cold clear stream of love and truth
Puts out the blaze of fear
Fed by lies from Satan's mouth
Fed by lies from well-meaning people
The never-ending source of fuel--
But His love never fails
Reduces the fear to that ember,
And if I let Him concentrate that love on me,
Eventually,
The fear will be nothing--
Not even a hot ember.
There is no fear in love.
Not fear of failure.
Not fear of human flaws
Not fear of insufficiency.
Not fear.
There is no fear in love.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” [Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV]
We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; his perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what he might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us and shows that we are not fully convinced that he really loves us. [1 John 4:18, TLB]