Fear No Fear

“and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19, MEV). I have a somewhat sordid past in the love department (any body count over 1 is always sad and I am NOT judging other people). Like many other people, I let the world program my thinking. I’m sure a few ideas were tossed my way by the devil, too. I bought into the idea that passion and love were the same thing. I bought into the idea that it was a normal part of dating. I bought into the idea that it was a human ‘need’. All of that is broken thinking. All of that is false. But I didn’t know that because buying into those lies FEELS good. I prioritized my feelings and refused to listen to the Lord. For DECADES. When I let myself listen to what the Lord had been saying for DECADES, everything changed. I could see in the world what His point of view was. I could see how HE defined love and what it really was. That revelation opened the door to my covenant partner and how we feel about each other. This is love. Nothing else was really love. It was either passion, pleasure, or the beginnings of love – puppy love. I never let that love grow into a real, deep, CHOICE to love. It was something I experienced, but not something I chose. When I chose to love like God had chosen to love me, everything changed. Everything deepened. Everything got real in a way that it never was before. It is an intense emotional, mental, and spiritual connection that does not rely on feelings. Feelings are great, but that is not the BASIS of the love. It taught me a HUGE lesson. In a similar way that I do with my covenant partner, I choose to love Jesus. I choose every day to find something about God that I love. Something I can thank Him for and be grateful for. Not things based on FEELINGS, but based on His Word and His character. When I am faithful with it, it really unlocks a connection with the Lord. It helps me see how He loves me. What He sacrificed for me. And it makes me so very grateful for all that He has done. It showcases the gap between anything I could accomplish and what He accomplished for me. It really drives home the GRACE and MERCY that come out of His love for me. It helps me to love Him so much, because He loved me so much. It is a life-changing choice that I can make on a daily basis because He made the choice first.