Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“and may the Lord cause you to increase and to abound in love for one another and for all, just as also we do for you,”

1 Thessalonians 3:12

Affection is not a bad kind of love. Passion is not a bad kind of love. Fondness in familiarity is not a bad kind of love. Performing or sacrificing for others is not a bad kind of love. None of them are the basis of God’s kind of love. They all grow out of God’s kind of love. They are the fruit of love. But so are patience and kindness. Remembering gentleness. And faithfulness. All of the Fruit of the Ruach are caught up in it, because Ruach HaKodesh is Adonai and Adonai IS love. We tend to separate out individual feelings or experiences and say that they are love to us. But love is an all-encompassing thing. And it is deeper than we may think.

It’s easy to be intellectual about it. Adonai loves us. We know it. We’ve been singing about it since we were children (or at least have heard the ‘Jesus loves me this I know’ song at some point). We sing songs in church about it. We know Jesus loves us because He died for us. We’ve heard sermons about it. We get it. Adonai loves us. But there is a HUGE difference between knowing it and seeing it in action. It’s the same with people in relationships. You know your husband or wife loves you because they married you. But seeing it in action on a day to day basis changes your world.

It’s also easy to be experiential about it. We can feel Adonai’s love for us and know it’s real – when we’re being obedient or maybe in church. But it is a fleeting thing. Part of the problem is that we aren’t meant to operate by feelings all the time. Part of the problem is that we equate feelings with love on a human level. When the feelings dim or fade, we assume love is also dimming or fading. We fall out of love on a regular basis. When the feelings go, we say it didn’t work out and we split – physically and legally. And then we look for stronger feelings with someone else and start the cycle all over again – we’re good at it because dating has trained us to hop from person to person in a search for ‘the one’. Love is not meant to work like that. It isn’t designed to work like that. Not with Adonai and not with each other.

The thing about love is that it is a decision. Jesus decided to love you fully, totally, and properly before anything was created (Revelation 13:8). Jesus died for us when we were still opposed to Him and insisting on running our own lives (Romans 5:10). That is love. It is NOT based on performance. It is NOT based on feelings. It is NOT emotional in its foundation. It is a decision. It is a choice. And for humans, it needs to be made again and again.

We were made in the image and likeness of Adonai (Genesis 1:26-28). We have within us the capacity to love as Adonai loves. A pure love. We have this ability because it is who Adonai is (1 John 4:7-21). We don’t access His kind of love intellectually. We don’t access it emotionally. We only get it one way. Through revelation by Ruach HaKodesh who poured it out in us in the first place (Romans 5:5). When we move past all the human thinking and get the revelation of Jesus’ love in our hearts, we get transformed. Our love and our capacity to love ALSO get transformed. In fact, until we start truly knowing Jesus’ love for us, we don’t really love properly at all.

I have been in relationships before. I believed I loved, and in a sense I did. I did it as best I could in my own strength. But since I really started to get a glimpse of Jesus’ love for me – a real revelation – it has transformed my ability to love, the depth of my love, and the intensity of my love. What I experience now – feelings and the times of no feelings – is more than I thought COULD be experienced. It makes the feelings easier to feel. It makes the decision to love easier (treat them with love the way Jesus treats us with love). There’s no flying off the handle. There are differences of opinion and occasionally disagreements, but no FIGHTS. And it gets better and better all the time.

It’s because of the knowledge of Jesus’ love. It’s because of seeing it in the Word. It’s because Ruach HaKodesh talks to us about it. And about how to apply it. It is transformational. A game-changer. Everything is brighter. Without Ruach HaKodesh pouring Jesus’ love into us and then consistently talking to us about it, we would not be in this place. Life would not be as good. And we wouldn’t know what love could be. Or eagerly look forward to where it will be tomorrow, next week, next year, next decade, and beyond. Without choosing to love like Jesus by learning how Jesus loves us, I don’t know how we could have handled some of what has been thrown at us. Knowledge of Jesus’ love for us enables Him to lift us above what is happening. Giving perspective. Comforting. Pointing out the next steps to take. It’s all because of His love for us.

The more we know in our hearts about Jesus’ love, the better life gets.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Matthew 14:25

“And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.” Jesus always helps. He’s come in the dark, in the light, in the quiet times, in the noisy times. Jesus does NOT leave us alone. Jesus heads our way. Jesus has ALWAYS headed our way. He did it to save us. To lift us up out of the mire and the darkness. To take off of and out of us the curse. Both the influence of Sin, the effects of Sin, and our own individual sins and iniquities. Sometimes it feels like we were spent. That we were about to die. But then Jesus came and saved us. He comes again and again to save us. He doesn’t give up. He respects our choices, but He doesn’t give up. He wants us well. And being with Him is the only way to BE well in every way. He loves us too much to leave us behind. He loves us too much to leave us broken. He loves us so very much. And He shows it by showing up. Always has. Always will. What a GOOD God!

Your Daily Confession of Elohim’s Goodness:

I taste and see that Yahweh is good; I am blessed because I take refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8