I have been seeking the Lord constantly for the better part of a decade begging him, “Lord, your church is paralyzed by fear and that fear manifest itself as avoidance. What would you require of your servant, how can I possibly minister to your beloved that they do not have to be afraid?”

And every time the Holy Spirit takes me back to 1 John.

“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.”‭‭

1 John‬ ‭4:18‬

The spirit of fear that manifest itself in avoidance is directly tied to lacking the love of Jesus Christ. We fear because we simply do not trust Jesus to do and be all that he says he is.

Brothers and sisters, fear not.

Do not be afraid.

The Lord Jesus loves you and is with you. Always. No matter what.

Even unto the end of the age.

He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He will always love you.

Here’s how you can know with all certainty that hope in Jesus is a guarantee:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”‭‭

Romans‬ ‭5:6-11‬