I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have
power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ... that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Do Not Be Anxious About Anything
by Ron Scurfield
Ephesians 3:17-18, NIV
Why do we worry? Why do we give the enemy so much scope to eat away at the uncertainties in our lives? We know it’s wrong. We know it’s futile, so why do we do it? Let’s call it what it is - fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the future, fear in relationships, insecurity, sickness and all the other daunting prospects that hang over our lives.
Jesus said, ‘Do not worry about your life’ (Matthew 6:25). ‘Do not worry about tomorrow’ (Matthew 6:34). Don’t we trust Him? ‘Do not be anxious about anything’ (Philippians 4:6). But still we worry. Why?
‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear’ (1 John 4:18a). We know God loves us. This is made perfectly clear in Scripture. So why have our fears not been driven out? ‘The one who fears is not made perfect in love’ (1 John 4:18b). We worry and we’re afraid because we haven’t yet fully grasped the true extent of His love. His love hasn’t been perfected in our spirit.
‘If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God’ (1 John 4:15). We must take firm hold of this truth and hang on to it. It’s the foundation on which the love of God can be re-established in our lives. The same Spirit that was in Jesus when He overcame the works of the evil one lives in you. ‘God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him’ (1 John 4:16).
The unconditional love of God, living in us, is the powerhouse that drives us forward. Depend on it. It’s the motivation for life itself. Live in it. It’s the abundant life that Jesus spoke about. And this love of God, which is beyond our understanding, will fill your heart and mind to overflowing with the perfect peace of Jesus. Seeds of doubt will be washed away and fear and anxiety will fade like the mist on a summer’s morning.
The love, that is made perfect by true acceptance and understanding, is a love that knows no fear.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me that I have not fully trusted in You, and have let doubt and fear invade my life. Please help me to release all my anxieties to You, as I allow Your perfect love to fill my heart. I thank You that in Jesus there is peace, perfected in love. Amen.
Ron Scurfield with his wife Jill, are part of the Associate Ministry Team at Ellel Grange and occasionally Ellel Scotland. Ron enjoys walking and writing and meeting interesting people, but his greatest joy is seeing God transform lives, setting people free to live the abundant life that Jesus intended.
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