Dear Zach, thank you once again for sharing your thoughts and being vulnerable.
I understand your struggle. Many people have struggled with the questions you raised.
I learned recently and I am still learning what is means when the bible says, "perfect love casteth out all fear". The word casteth implies a continual process . Perfect love is found only in Christ yet we are encouraged to strive toward perfection.
What I learned recently is that where there is any fear in our lives, we are not operating in perfect love whether towards God, ourselves or others. We need to ask God a question in those situations. Why am I afraid ? And what lie am I believing? Then be still and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Then ask God to reveal His truth to you, then replace the lie with the truth.
The greatest commandments are to love, the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. It also says to owe no man anything but to love him. 1 Corinthians 13 is our guide.
So the underlying motive behind achievement or endurance or anything we do in life should be love , whether it is God, ourselves or others. I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for the time taken to write this beautiful comment. I guess I often feel love and fear to be somewhat mixed. To the extent I love what I meaningful I fear not fulfilling it enough, to the extent I love life I fear wasting it.
However, I take your point that regardless of our situation, love of what is good and true and beautiful protects us from the fear and disorientation of fearing man too much.
Dear Zach, thank you once again for sharing your thoughts and being vulnerable.
I understand your struggle. Many people have struggled with the questions you raised.
I learned recently and I am still learning what is means when the bible says, "perfect love casteth out all fear". The word casteth implies a continual process . Perfect love is found only in Christ yet we are encouraged to strive toward perfection.
What I learned recently is that where there is any fear in our lives, we are not operating in perfect love whether towards God, ourselves or others. We need to ask God a question in those situations. Why am I afraid ? And what lie am I believing? Then be still and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Then ask God to reveal His truth to you, then replace the lie with the truth.
The greatest commandments are to love, the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. It also says to owe no man anything but to love him. 1 Corinthians 13 is our guide.
So the underlying motive behind achievement or endurance or anything we do in life should be love , whether it is God, ourselves or others. I hope this helps.
God bless you.
Thank you so much for the time taken to write this beautiful comment. I guess I often feel love and fear to be somewhat mixed. To the extent I love what I meaningful I fear not fulfilling it enough, to the extent I love life I fear wasting it.
However, I take your point that regardless of our situation, love of what is good and true and beautiful protects us from the fear and disorientation of fearing man too much.
Thanks again for your comment!