Fear No Fear

“To love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33, MEV). God loves us enough to help us be free. Obedience is WAY more freeing than rebellion. When we’re kids or even teenagers, we have a hard time seeing that. We see the caution tape that is put around our lives and think that everything beyond it is freedom. But almost all of the time, all that stuff that people see as freedom is binding. It comes with a LOT of negatives. We think we’re educating ourselves in culturally important ideas, entertainments, and events, but we’re letting hook after hook get into us. We don’t feel the barbs until it’s too late. After all, if the world’s idea of freedom was really so freeing, they would be satisfied with it. They would be happy. We wouldn’t be staring in the face of a culture built on anxiety and dissatisfaction. We wouldn’t be teaching people it’s ‘normal’ to lean into every little thought or feeling that crossing their mental landscape. But they do. And they call it freedom. People enslaved to their impulses. Unable to break free. Unable to function with ease. And the world calls that progress. Obedience to the Lord is FREEING. Nothing good is KEPT from you. Nothing bad is encouraged. Where human frailties exist, God gives us the equipment to overcome it. God heals us. God restores us. God does a work within us. It isn’t always instantaneous, but every day brings more freedom. More victory. More of Him active in our lives as we seek His face, study His Word, and align ourselves with His moral character. These are ALL positives. This is ALL good. God means FREEDOM from the chains, the barbs, the hooks. God means FREEDOM from slavery to whatever comes into our minds. We can think properly. Critically. We can see TRUTH and walk in it. God isn’t keeping things from us. God is trying to get abundant life to us. Spiritually, mentally, relationally, and every other way. Starting with our walk with Him, God is seeking to transform us into everything He wants us to be. Free, functional, and full of Him. What a GOOD God!