Overcoming Anxiety Through the Power of Love
Anxiety often takes root in the fear that something bad is looming on the horizon. It's a challenge anchored in fear, but what if the solution lies in becoming anchored in love? I believe that with love all things are possible.
For Christians, 1 Corinthians 13 provides a beautiful portrayal of love—patient, kind, selfless, honoring, forgiving, protective, trusting, hopeful, and enduring. Yet, the revelation that "God is love" (1 John 4:16) unveils a more profound truth. Being in Christ means dwelling in love, and being unaffected by fear. God embodies the essence of love.
1 John 4:18 lets us know how to get rid of fear. There is no fear in love, perfect love casts out fear. There is no fear in love so there is no fear in God. If we are in Him, we will have no fear. When we are perfectly walking in love, we will have no fear.
1 John 4:10-16 says 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:10 captures a pivotal truth: we don't love God; He loves us. Understanding the height, length, depth, and width of God's love dispels fear. This is why we're consistently urged, "Fear Not." Fear, in essence, is a departure from the knowledge that God loves us, a truth that liberates us from fear.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 underlines the importance of faith in God and His grace-filled attitude of love for us. Believing in His love is not just pleasing to God but also essential for Him to move mightily in our lives. James 1:5-7 reinforces the principle that without unwavering faith, we hinder our reception of God's blessings.
James 1:5-7 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.
Mark 9 recounts a father's cry for healing. His plea, "Lord, help my unbelief!" echoes a sentiment many may resonate with. If doubts cloud your belief in God's love, cry out to Him.
Mark 9:23-24 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Strengthen your faith, for as Romans 10:17 states, faith comes by hearing the Word. I daily listen to the bible on the You Version Bible App. It has many versions of the bible with audio so you can listen on the go and it has bible studies for multitudes of subjects. In my journey, I immersed myself in the scriptures, substituting "God" for "love" in 1 Corinthians 13 and others, witnessing a profound transformation. Now no one could convince me otherwise than that God is loving, and actively seeking to bless His people.
Romans 8:35-39 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake, we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
No one can separate me from the love of God. What is there to fear when you know the creator of all that exists is with you and surrounding you? I have faced a man with a gun who wanted to kill me and had no fear at all. I was amazed. I did not realize how deeply the love from God had penetrated my soul. I knew that God had sent His angels to protect me and there was no way that gun could kill me.
Anxiety, once overwhelming, became not only manageable but curable. I've lived the transformation and now extend a hand to help you conquer fear and anxiety. Join me on this journey to anxiety healing. Let's replace fear with the unwavering faith in the love that surrounds us.
