No Fear? Does Love Cast Out Fear?

There are two kinds of fear. 

Bad fear is based on false values and unnecessary worries.

Good fear is based on a reasonable understanding of danger, power, circumstances and consequences.

It's healthy fear when a woman chooses a well-lit street instead of the back-alley way home. It's healthy fear when a man drives more carefully on icy roads. 

There's also healthy and unhealthy fear in our relationship with God.

Perfect love casts out bad fear (1 John 4:18) because we know that Jesus will never forsake us, leave us, or harm us. 

But perfect love instills a healthy fear of the Lord in us - a fear that is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10; Psalm 147:11).

Sometimes people define this as reverence but it's more than that.

It's a combination of love, awe, and dependence built on an accurate knowledge of God's power. 

It's knowing we are but small boats on the powerful ocean of His loving will.

Would you like to do a short Bible study on this devotion? Check out today's Bite Size Study HERE.
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