There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 Jn. 4:18-NKJV)
Fear. It can be crippling and it involves torment. It wasn’t long ago that one of those fiery darts of fear tried to take root in the soil of my mind. After wrestling with many thoughts/scenarios, I gently heard the Holy Spirit whisper that scripture in my ear “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” Afterwards, the Lord began to remind me about my relationship with my husband.
My husband and I have been together for 20 years now and married for 13 of them. I LOVE my husband and thoroughly enjoy our relationship! The longer that we’re together, the more my love grows for him. Our relationship makes me feel secure. I don’t fear that he is going to leave me. I don’t fear that he is going to cheat on me. I don’t fear that he is going to spend our mortgage money on something worthless and leave us homeless. I don’t fear that he might not come home at night. I don’t fear that he is going to come home angry and put me out on the front porch. I have a deep trust in our relationship. I know him and therefore I am in love with him. He has proven himself faithful. He has proven himself trustworthy. He has proven that he loves me.
After I was reminded of how secure I felt in my marriage, He (the Lord) quickly reminded me that He is our Perfect Husband and we have nothing to fear in Him. We can be completely and soundly secure when we are engaged in a perfect love relationship with Him! We are not perfect, but He is. All human relationships are flawed, but He is not! Isaiah 54:5 says “For your Maker is your Husband, The LORD of hosts is His name…” He is telling us that He is our Husband. So if He is our Husband that must make us His Bride! He is comparing our relationship with Him to that of a husband and wife relationship. Wow, that is close. That is intimacy.
After I was reminded of how secure I felt in my marriage, He (the Lord) quickly reminded me that He is our Perfect Husband and we have nothing to fear in Him. We can be completely and soundly secure when we are engaged in a perfect love relationship with Him! We are not perfect, but He is. All human relationships are flawed, but He is not! Isaiah 54:5 says “For your Maker is your Husband, The LORD of hosts is His name…” He is telling us that He is our Husband. So if He is our Husband that must make us His Bride! He is comparing our relationship with Him to that of a husband and wife relationship. Wow, that is close. That is intimacy.
God wants us to know that a PERFECT LOVE relationship is found only in Him. It’s a relationship that we can depend on. A relationship that is secure. And as we cultivate our relationship with Him we will KNOW – not with our head, but with our heart - that He will never leave us or forsake us. We will KNOW that He loves us with an everlasting love. We will KNOW that He is our Provider, our Healer and Way-Maker. We will KNOW that He is directing our steps and that He delights in EVERY detail of our lives. We will KNOW that He says “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Ps. 34:19) How many afflictions does He deliver us out of? ALL of them!
In closing, I would like to say it like this “There is no fear when you are in love with Me, because you know that I love you and you are secure in My love. Whenever you get into fear, you have failed to see Me as I really am. I am faithful and I am trustworthy. I Love you with a PERFECT LOVE!”