When we undergo trials, we fight the battle of fear. Fear of the current situation, fear of the future, fear of what will happen to us or our loved ones, family, marriage, relationships, job, children, friends and, well, you get the picture. Fear has been particularly prevalent during this time of pandemic. At times, life seems overwhelming, even for many people we perceive as holy.
In that regard, we are not alone; nearly every saint has had doubts, fear and dark moments of despair. Mother Teresa, now St. Teresa of Calcutta, in letters written in confidence to her confessors, had times of doubt. She wrote about experiencing extreme darkness of faith and about thoughts that gave her untold agony. She described herself as needing to put on a spiritual cloak that covered her despair with a smile. Mother Teresa’s patron, St. Therese of Lisieux, described her fear as being in a night of nothingness.
Fear is crippling and immobilizing. Fear is our enemy. What conquers fear? God’s love.
1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.”
When we are open to God’s love, we are open to hope. Transformed by God’s love, we trust in Him. As in the Divine Mercy devotion, we say with confidence, “Jesus, I trust in you; Jesus I trust in you; Jesus, I trust in you.”
When we hope and trust, God’s love showers on us the peace that passes all understanding. We do not tremble and fear.
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit.”
One of the most important scripture passages for us to memorize and have rooted in our hearts and souls is from Paul’s letter to the Romans:
Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
Do we believe this scripture passage? Is this belief an important part of our lives? When we believe God is real and that He cares about us and loves us more than we can ever imagine, everything changes. Our doubts, fears and anxieties melt away.
I love to be with groups of believers and declare the phrase, “God is good!” Their response, “All the time!” echoes the scripture passage in Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
In the midst of trials, it is difficult to understand or accept that God has a purpose for everything in our lives. Many of us try to figure out His plan for us. We attempt to understand why things happen the way that they do. We even plan our lives according to our human understanding. “We plan, God laughs.”
Please do not try to figure out every aspect of what happens to you or what may happen to you. We do not comprehend God’s ways.
Isaiah 55:9 “As high as the heavens are above the earth, / so high are my ways above your ways / and my thoughts above your thoughts.”
We also see Jesus telling us not to worry or to try to figure out our lives.
Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
Focusing on God’s goodness and love transforms us, leaving no room for fear in our lives! This is always true, but especially when we are in crisis.
A friend of mine was 7½ months pregnant. She began bleeding and went to her doctor. Her physician gave her news no person wants to hear: they could not hear the baby’s heartbeat. She was told to go to the emergency room to have labor induced.
My friend had recently read the book I wrote, Expect and Experience Miracles, and took it out of her purse. Rather than fear, she asked God for more faith. The baby had been pronounced dead for 45 minutes when she was in the emergency room. Still, she believed!
Crying, she begged the physicians and nurses, “Will you check the heartbeat one more time?”
And sure enough, they found the heartbeat! Eighteen doctors were called in to certify the baby was alive since it had been legally pronounced dead! Six weeks later, she delivered a totally healthy baby boy. Ten pounds, one ounce!
A month after giving birth, my friend came to our prayer meeting with her healthy baby and beaming with joy! Amen!
No one can outdo God’s love. Trust in Him. Rebuke fear! You will see miracles in your life!
3 thoughts on “God’s Love Conquers Fear”
Thank you for this article! I am in the grip of fear. I have had to endure various torments at work from an unbalanced individual for more than two years. I recently had a breakdown and am now off work. The prayers of friends and beautiful moments such as encountering your article, Mr. Greco, have sustained me for the past three weeks.
When I wanted peace in my life, and looked in the Bible to see if it had any instruction for arriving at it, unconditional trust in God was the pervasive answer. Even without a firm belief in God and His love at that time, being anxious for nothing by casting all of my care on God seemed like a possible way of releasing anxiety from my life. When I tried it, the results of doing it were more than I could have ever imagined. I had never been taught this simple way of approaching God until I found it in the Bible. Important Scripture verses that instructed me in this are: Philippians 4:6-7, 1Peter 5:5-7, Matthew 6:25-27, 11:28-30, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalms 37:7, 55:22, Isaiah 26:3-4, 55:7-9, Galatians 5:22-23, and John 6:63.
You have no idea just how much I needed those BIble verses this morning! When one is far away from family and things look gloomy, it’s so easy to doubt.
Thank you! I thoroughly enjoyed your article.