Today Joe and I dove back into our devotional, Fearless: overcoming the stronghold of fear. Fear is something almost all of us will battle during our lifetime, trying to paralyze you from truly living life. This devotional will lead you through five choices that will strengthen you and help you be victorious over fear.

Today’s choice is: Choose love over hate

Psychologists say that the base of all emotions is either love or fear. The brain also dictates that it cannot hold two contradictory thoughts simultaneously and that the most robust thought pattern wins. In your battle against fear, one of the greatest weapons at your disposal is love. You are loved—more than you know. Once you realize how very loved you are, you can garner the strength to fight this spirit of fear. God gives us a spirit of love and not one of fear.

Learn to live—loved. A loving heart is a loved heart. You cannot say you love others yet hate yourself—or them. Fear would have you traverse the complex road of unforgiveness and hate. These two concepts bind you further in chains. A forgiving heart is a forgiven heart and in that, there is no place for hate. Fear will lie to you and keep you captive, whereas love guides you into freedom. Love is the way of the kingdom of God.

My daughter and I prayed, shortly after the armed robbery, to forgive the men who attacked us, and we had to do it numerous times. God’s love quiets our anxious or fearful hearts. His love enables us to forgive and bless. It’s not easy, but that is the narrow road of the Kingdom of God.

When fear knocks at your door with its accomplices, unforgiveness, and hate, then respond in the opposite spirit and let love lead.  

How can you embrace the love of God so that you can be set free from the chains of fear?

The verses we reflected on today:

  • Luke 10:27 – “ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
  • 1 John 4:18 – ” There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
  • Zephaniah 3:17 – ” The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love, he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” 

Our prayer:

“Lord, help me remember that you give me a spirit of love and not one of fear and that when I understand just the smallest bit how much you love me,  I have the greatest weapon against fear. Fear doesn’t have a chance against Your great love, and we praise you for that. Help me to not get caught in the chains of this world, in the chains of unforgiveness and hate. Nudge my heart when I head down the road of unforgiveness and hate and remind me that a forgiving heart is a forgiven heart; and in that, there is no place for hate. Give me the courage to lay my fears and hurts at your feet and to forgive as you have forgiven me.  Amen” 

You will never guess what game we played 😉 The WNZR Christmas Gift exchange! Congratulations to Charla for Utica and Casey from Apply Valley who were caller number nines! If you want to know more about this, click HERE. 

Thank you for checking out our blog!

-Hannah and Joe