Written By Beloved By Him

Here we are a year later, and I’m writing about shots again.

This time, it was my college-age son, getting some immunizations so he can enroll in the paramedic program at school. He didn’t have a problem getting the shots themselves, but on the way home in the car, he started reading the paperwork that the clinic gave him, in which they explain all the potential hazards and side effects of the immunizations. By the time we got home, he was sufficiently freaked out enough to ask me to pray for him, that he wouldn’t have any adverse reaction.

My son was afraid that the thing that was supposed to help protect him might actually harm him instead. I reminded him that just as God had led him to the paramedic program, He also led him to get the shots, and that He was in charge. Whatever was going to happen is in His hands, and He is trustworthy, so my son doesn’t have to be afraid.

This is why it’s so important for us to understand the love of God: because when we know the character of God (gracious and merciful, full of lovingkindness), and begin to grasp the amazing depth of His love for us (read Romans 8:31-38), we can be freed from the bondage of fear in our lives. Whether it’s fear about the future, illness, relationships, money—the truth is that God will always take care of us, and it’s His will and purpose for us that will prevail (Prov. 19:21). His love for us doesn’t depend on what we do or how we feel, and it won’t change if we make mistakes or even if we walk away from Him for a time. If we are in Christ, then our heavenly Father is our perfect Daddy, and we should never be afraid of Him:

“For we did not receive a spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Rom. 8:15)

Let’s look at some of the things we don’t have to be afraid of any more.

The future

Our loving Father has promised to give us a hope and a future—a future in which His good plans for us will bring us success and not harm (Jer. 29:11). Our eternal future is also secure, because our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and nothing is able to snatch us away from Christ our Savior (John 10:28, Eph. 1:13, Rev. 3:5). We know that whatever we’ve done and whatever we’re going to do, good or bad, God will make a way for it to be used for our ultimate good (Rom. 8:28). Because of God’s perfect love, we can say with the psalmist, “But as for me, I say You are my God. My times are in Your hand.” (Ps. 31:14)

Sickness and death

Yes, they’re a dreaded part of life in a fallen world; sickness and death are inevitable. But they don’t have to cause us to fear. God is with us in illness; He never leaves us or forsakes us. Romans 8:35 says that nothing can separate us from the love of God—including illness and death. Jesus defeated death on the cross, so if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, we know that death no longer has power over our eternal souls (I Cor. 15:55). The bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (II Cor. 5:8); Christians can be assured that death is merely the means by which we are ushered into paradise with God for eternity. We can also receive the comfort of the Holy Spirit in sickness. We know that our confidence in Christ gives us hope and sustains us in our suffering (Ps. 41:3, Pr. 18:14). God is able to heal all our diseases, and will do so if it is His will (Ps. 103:3, 107:20, Jer. 17:12, Matt. 8:2-3, 9:35). Sickness and death are inevitable on earth, but someday we will dwell in heaven, where those things will no longer exist (Rev. 21:4).

Trials and persecution

Some people mistakenly believe that once they are Christians, then life should be smooth sailing; after all, if God loves us so much, shouldn’t He make things easy for us? The truth is, because God does love us so much, He allows various trials into our lives to increase our faith, teach us discipline, and reveal more of Himself to us (Prov. 3:12, I Peter 1:7, 4:1, 12-13, Deut. 8:2-3, I Thess. 3:3, II Tim. 3:12). Certainly God does protect us from many things, just as a parent will watch over a child and keep him safe (Ps. 18:2, 27:1, 121, Is. 43:2). But a loving parent will also make sure that her child is learning and growing, developing the skills necessary to live successfully. God does the same for us. He wants us to understand the truth of His word and how to apply it in our daily lives, how to trust in His promises and produce godly fruits of patience, faith, and righteousness, and most importantly, to learn more about His character and His amazing goodness. We have the confidence that God is wisely using trials in our lives to make us more like Jesus, and that He can be trusted to not break us beyond His capability to rebuild us and make us stronger (Is. 42:3, II Cor. 4:8-9). If the enemy comes against us, God has already foreseen it, allowed it, and made a way to deliver us, so that nothing evil will have the ultimate victory (Gen. 50:20, Is. 54:17, John 16:33). God makes a way out of every temptation, and gives us help like no one else can (I Cor. 10:13, Ps. 108:12-13). God’s love for us through Christ Jesus means that in every trial and trouble, we will always be more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37).

Provision

If we are not trusting in God’s loving provision, maybe we’ve made the mistake of comparing our heavenly Father, with His unlimited resources, to our earthly fathers and the limits of their checkbooks. Not only does God promise to provide for all our needs according to His riches in glory, but most of us have also seen Him prove He knows how to give good gifts to His children as well (Phil. 4:19, Matt. 7:11). The fact is, God is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,” not just for us, but in us (Eph. 3:20). Through Christ, our futures are secure in this world and the next. He gives us what we need for salvation, righteousness, joy, and wisdom, and tops it off with the blessings of obedience (Ps. 34:10, 84:11, I Cor. 1:5-9, II Cor. 9:10, II Peter 1:3, Eph. 1:3, ). Even when we’re weak and sinful, His grace is sufficient and His mercy is new every morning (II Cor. 12:9, Lam. 3:22-23). Whatever our need, God already knows it and has a provided a way to meet it (Matt. 6:8, Rom. 8:32).

Relationships

So many of the questions that come in to WeUsed2bu are concerning relationships, and the fears that come when the people involved are not understanding or acting in God’s will. Whether it’s parents, friends, boyfriends, husbands, or children, conflicts in relationships can cause overwhelming fears of abandonment, inadequacy, lack of commitment, and loss of love. The truth is that relationships can involve these things; God’s love, however, far supersedes anything we can receive from people, even those who are in Christ Jesus. Man’s love will fail, but God’s love never will (I Cor. 13:8). If we are rooted and grounded in the love of God, if we understand the depth of His love for us, and that we are loved unconditionally, then we can abide in His love regardless of where we might be in our other relationships (Eph. 3:17-19, John 15:9). God’s love is limitless, everlasting, and gives us hope (Rom. 5:5, Jer. 31:3). It gives us what we need to love others, even our enemies; we can forgive and be forgiven because of the love of God (I John 4:7, Rom. 13:10, John 13:34-35, I Peter 4:8, I Thess. 3:12, Col. 3:14). In Christ, we can love and be loved by God without fear (I John 4:18-19). If we are afraid of God—if we fear drawing close to Him because He couldn’t possible love us just the way we are, then we don’t know the truth of Who He is and what He’s done for us:

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.” (John 3:16-17, Amplified Bible)

Are you feeling safe and sound in God’s love? If not, maybe it’s time to seek His face: ask Him to show Himself to you, not just what He’s done, but Who He really is. Then see what fears can stand up to the outpouring of His love that will follow. Spend a few moments reading Romans 8, and put your name in anywhere it says “us.” Those words were written for you, so that you could be free from fear. Walk out of that prison of fear and into His marvelous light and love.

“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” (Ps. 34:4)

“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.” (I John 4:16-17, NLT)

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