Love Casts Out All Fear

Good Morning family, first I thank you for encouraging me to continue blogging, just by you taking the time to read. Some of you have sent me messages and or said something to me in person and I am thankful for your push. My apologies for my extended break! Thank you for sticking with me. Keys2unlock begins now…

I am going to be very transparent in this moment so bear with me while I do. A few weeks ago, I learned something about myself that was extremely difficult to swallow. I have allowed fear to flood my life at a level that just looked and felt normal to me. It has affected me in so many aspects of my life that I didn’t even recognize it for what it is. I’ve been blind to it and by that, I mean I didn’t want to accept it. I’ve known about this fear for a long time I just accepted it as normal or shall I say it’s who I am. Fear can have deep roots if you allow it. I can trace back to my early childhood moments when I allowed fear to speak on my behalf. I let it infect my relationships with my family and with God. I have been thinking that I am loving and operating in love, only to find out I have been doing things out of fear and not love that hurt me. I felt my inner self just slump down like in embarrassment. But the slump will not take over I must take control back from fear. It will not dictate my life, my moves nor my relationships. It is in the way of my relationship with God and family it must go! What has been ringing in me ever since this realization about fear is the quote from one of my favorite cartoons back in the day “Knowing is half the battle”.  (G.I. Joe) What are you going to do about it?

I realize there is a previous blog concerning fear this concerned more with fear of the Lord. The fear I’m talking about here is the spirit of fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 reads “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” There are different versions of the bible that use different words. Like a spirit of fear or the spirit of fear so in my own thoughts mind you I am not an English scholar but the spirit of fear is saying this specific spirit. By saying a spirit of fear means there are more than one. I’ll let that sink in a bit. According to the Interlinear Greek-English book that I own says the literal translation of the verse is “For God did not give a spirit of cowardice to us, but of power and of love, and of self-control.”

So, is it safe to say that a certain level of fear is healthy or necessary? (respectful amount of fear- like enough to respect) But an excessive amount of fear brings obsession and this is where you don’t want to be! You can be at a point where fear runs you. (Transparent Moment) I made decisions in my marriage out of fear not love. Ok not just fear but many fears! Afraid of the reaction, afraid of what she would think, afraid of what other people would think, see or say. I allowed things to happen based off of fear! Fear that I would lose my relationship with my kids and lose or never gain their respect as a father. I mean I was in this thing deep! Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying I didn’t have love for my family. I’m saying I did not love them the way that I should because I was covered in fear. Can I tell you that every time I look at that Interlinear Greek-English translation that has the word coward in it, I feel disgusted! But as I type this I understand now that day the Lord told me He was going to teach me how to love. I have been doing this wrong and what I thought was love wasn’t love at all. I became way too familiar with something God never gave me. This is going seem a bit weird but I hope you catch my point. You can’t parent out of fear, you can’t be married out of fear, you cant be a friend out of fear, you can’t be a son or daughter out of fear, you can’t be you out of fear, you can’t love out of fear, you can’t be who God has called for you to be out of fear. This fear I’m talking about are like brakes which are designed to slow down and eventually stop whatever is moving. Brakes are a mechanical device that hinders motion by absorbing energy from something that is moving. Read that again until that sinks in! Ok I allowed that to sink in and that said to me that I have relinquished control of me (the vehicle) to fear and not to love. Remember God is Love! When fear takes the wheel, you are no longer on course you are headed to all the destinations fear wants to go. Let’s name a few neighborhoods fear takes you: Resentment, Hate, Anger, Pride, Self-Doubt, and Unforgiveness. That’s just to name a few.

                I think it is fitting to close this with scripture which I believe will help you as it helps me in this moment of realization. It will be from the Literal Translation of 1 John 4:15-21 “¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶And we have known and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and the one abiding in love abides in God, and God in him. ¹⁷By this love has been perfected with us, that we have confidence in the day of judgement, that as He is, we are also in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment; and the (one) fearing has not been perfected in love. ¹⁹We love Him because He first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the (one) not loving his brother whom he has seen, how is he able to love God whom he has not seen? ²¹And we have this commandment from Him, that the (one) who loves God also loves his brother.”

                Thank you for reading and supporting keys2unlock. I pray this has blessed you and helps someone! I pray you are filled with God’s love, joy, peace, favor, anointing and Holy Spirit and that you share love every day. Take care, be safe and pray!