What is your greatest concern right now? Are you in fear of economic loss? Do you fear the loss of the person or thing that has steadied your life for so long? Do you fear the feeling that your health is slipping away? Or fear major changes in your life that you can’t grasp the ability to prevent? Everywhere we turn, including when we read certain stories in the Bible, messages about fear invade our consciousness. Fear, deny it as we will, is one of the most prominent features of life. Fear is a deep seated feeling that can trigger myriad other negative feelings - shyness, insecurity, self-doubt, self-criticism, and many more. Fear can also be a set of actions, a verb, a way of living life…in fear.

How do you address your fears? Do you deny them and run from the feelings as fast as you can? Or, difficult as it is to make yourself, do you face them head on? Impossible circumstances, whatever they are, can create fear in us that can rage out of control. When fear is not in control, it is very hard for us to hear to God's instruction "Don't be afraid.”

What reassures us in the midst of great worry or fear? The lesson that God teaches us about how to overcome our fear is staring us right in the face. The Bible doesn’t stop at the admonition “Fear not.” It teaches us that “Perfect love casts out fear.” Perfect love, eh? Yeah, that may seem like an insurmountable objective to achieve…all by yourself. But, you are not alone. Never. Ever. God is with you. So are the people who love you no matter what. The struggle is to accept that love, even imperfect love, and let it help us control our fears. Love is more than a noun, more than the deep feeling that books, television, and movies make it out to be. Love is a verb, a decision you make, a set of actions that you take, a way of life that lets us take control over our fears, reducing it until it almost completely disappears. Live one day at a time trusting that God will show you the power of love.