Tonight I’ve been marinating in 1 John 4. And, I have to tell you, verses 18 and 19 – words I have read many times over the years – hit me with a fresh wave of peace.

¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. (ESV)

We have a choice. We can live life in fear and anxiety – worrying about the future or the past or the present or our retirement or our jobs or the person who is displeased with us or whether Minnesota will be able to hold their own against Green Bay (hey, football season is only three months away)…

Or, we can live rooted in the perfect love of Jesus. We can put our full faith in Him, opting to yield to God, recognizing His love and sovereignty, praying, praising, spending time in His Word…

When we realize the depth of God’s love – not as some abstract religious concept but His personal love for you – and when we live to seek Him first over everything, we see the folly of fear.

God is sovereign over everything. Nothing we face is beyond Him. And we trust in the Lord for He is love and He never changes. When we embrace His perfect love and fully trust in Him, His perfect love casts away the fear. After all, the two cannot coexist.

So we have a choice to make. We can choose to worry about our troubles (real and imagined) and live a life of turmoil. Or we can faithfully follow God through Jesus Christ, trusting Him, casting our cares on Him, seeking His will first and foremost, understanding our circumstances do not define us.

Which will you choose?