Love Drives Out Fear

In 1 John 3:8 I read, “Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil's ways.” (The Message)

Jesus defeated death, and that means he also defeated Satan. In fact, that’s why he came to Earth. The Bible says, “The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways” (1 John 3:8 The Message).

The Devil’s work is to mess with my mind. He fills it with worry, guilt, resentment, anger, fear, and confusion. He whispers in my ear that I’m worthless, helpless, hopeless, and aimless. Satan uses these thoughts and emotions to keep me enslaved.

The biggest tool Satan uses to mess with my life is fear. The Bible clearly says that fear doesn’t come from God: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18 NIV). The Bible also says, “God is love” (1 John 4:16 NIV). So when I’m afraid, that’s not from God—because there is no fear in love, and God is love.

Jesus defeated death; he destroyed the Devil’s work. And so, when I as a Christian grieve a death, I grieve with hope.

I grieve because I miss those I’ve lost. I grieve, but I know that if they believed in Jesus, I will see them again in heaven. They are waiting there in that place where we all were designed to go in the first place.

In Hebrews 2:14-15, the Bible says, “Since all of these sons and daughters have flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood to be like them. He did this so that by dying he would destroy the one who had power over death (that is, the devil). In this way he would free those who were slaves all their lives because they were afraid of dying” (GW).

So whenever I feel fear creeping into my heart—whether it’s the fear of death or another fear—remember that fear isn’t from God. Then ask God to drive out that fear with his perfect love.

In summary, those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil's ways. Jesus defeated death, and that means he also defeated Satan. That’s why he came. The Devil’s work is to mess with my mind. He fills it with worry, guilt, resentment, anger, fear, and confusion. He whispers that I’m worthless, helpless, hopeless, and aimless. Satan uses these thoughts and emotions to keep me enslaved. The biggest tool Satan uses to mess with my life is fear. Fear doesn’t come from God. When I’m afraid, that’s not from God, because there is no fear in love, and God is love. When I as a Christian grieve a death, I grieve with hope. I grieve because I miss those I’ve lost, but I know that if they believed in Jesus, I will see them again in heaven. So whenever I feel fear creeping into my heart, whether it’s the fear of death or another fear, remember that fear isn’t from God. Then ask God to drive out that fear with his perfect love.

I have areas where temptation is strong and habits are hard to conquer. It's these weaknesses that give the devil a foothold, so I must deal with my areas of vulnerability. There are three steps I need to find victory over prevailing sin: 1). See the power of the Holy Spirit and God's Word; 2). Stay away from tempting situations; and 3). seek the help of the body of Christ and be open to their willingness to hold me accountable and pray for me.

Father, thank you for this reminder today. I ask that with the help of the Holy Spirit in my life that I can put into practice these ways of finding victory over sin. Lord, I need you. Please give me Your strength for today. I ask you also for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my training for a future job role and learning a small group. I ask these things through you Son Jesus’ name, amen.