The Fear-Killer

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18

D.L. MOODY
There cannot be true peace where there is fear. “Perfect love casteth out fear.” How wretched a wife would be if she doubted her husband! And how miserable a mother would feel if after her boy had gone away from home she had reason, from his neglect, to question that son’s devotion! True love never has a doubt.

ERWIN LUTZER
Fear is debilitating; it disrupts our sense of well-being and paralyzes our ability to think clearly. Thoughts of fear replace thoughts of God’s love and faithfulness. As John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, wrote in the verse above, fear can only be cast out by insisting on the promises of God’s love and trusting in His sovereignty. But this is more difficult than it seems; sometimes the love of God seems contrary to our own experience.
The best way to renew our confidence in God’s love is to remember His love was displayed on the cross. In other words, because of the cross, we need not fear being cast aside or abandoned—we are His forever. That love of God casts out fear. And we cannot accept the love of God without also believing in the sovereignty of God for our future—and for our eternity. 
Let’s take a lesson from David, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). Perhaps the secret of overcoming fear is best exemplified in Psalm 27:4: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” That “one thing” will cast out fear.

PRAYER
Father, expand my view of you so I may understand your perfect love.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
What causes you to doubt God’s love for you? What does Scripture say about God’s love for believers?

Why does perfect love cast out fear?