Why Do We Fear?

I watch the news and realize that everything in our world is changing.  All the things I grew up secure in have completely changed since I was a kid.

As a kid, I used to be able to walk to school. Sometimes we didn't even lock the doors. Now we lock the doors and turn on the house alarm. Things have changed. If you're old enough to remember, have you noticed the change?

I never thought of death until recent years.  Today, there seems to be a lot of deaths happening and not necessarily by natural causes.  Whether from earthquakes, floods, natural disasters, wars, street violence, genocides, disease, you name it, there seems to be plenty of ways to die and we really feel less secure in our lives today than we ever have. 

Afraid yet?  We have every reason to be if we look at what's going on in our country and in the world today.  But as I turn to God, there's a verse that really addresses this.  If we really understand:

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18a) 

It makes all the things I'm afraid of nothing.  But how much do I believe this verse?  Where does that fear I feel come from if I am trying to embrace this verse for my life?  Why do I not feel really safe until the car alarm, house alarm, doctor visit, (insert dependency here) is set or done?

Am I really trusting God?  Even more specifically, do I trust His love for me or am I substituting trusting Him with trusting other things?  I don't think doctors, alarms, weapons and smart decisions are unwise or evil and they are needed in some cases.  But what am I trusting really?   

A lady and her family began to follow Christ after being athiests almost all their lives.  The mom had cancer and was dying.  At the cancer center in the newness of her faith, her mom told her daughter on the phone, "There are alot of Christians here with cancer, but I can't understand why they are so afraid.  My God is greater than my cancer."  What a response!  Sometimes, child-like faith (no matter the age of the person) can remind us what we have forgotten over the years. But why do we forget?

I want to trust that God's love can overcome anything I face, even if I lose.  I don't want it to be only lip service.  In the deepest part of my being, I want to trust His perfect love to drive out all of my fear and live each good and bad day that comes my way trusting Him.

God bless,
Dave