Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Afraid to Love

Fear is almost unavoidable. Everyone faces it in his or her own way. We face small fears, like the foods we may have to eat while living in Taiwan. We face more significant fears, like what will happen to our futures if we make a wrong decision. Whether dealing with small or great fears, one thing is for sure: fear is a killjoy. It robs you of your peace. It rips apart everything that you hold dear. It makes you question everything that you believe to be right. It will even make you question the One who is always right.   

The Bible says that we are God's sheep and that we are called to follow the Good Shepherd. Often, though, when He takes us to a pasture, we have to make sure that it is the right pasture. We have to see whether or not the grass is really green and good. We have to pray to the Shepherd and question whether or not He brought us to the right location. What if there is danger? What if things go wrong? Surely we would be in the wrong place if that happened. But do we trust that the Shepherd really is good? Do we believe that every good and perfect gift is from above? Do we believe that He said don't worry about tomorrow, but listen to my voice and follow me. Do we believe that He loves us? Do we really love Him?
“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 
Because there is no fear in love, we cannot love God and be afraid of Him at the same time. We must believe that He loves us and will protect us, and we must choose to follow Him. We must stop trying to plan our lives all out to the tee. Jesus never said get comfortable in this life or find happiness. He said fight, deny yourself, and follow Him wherever He may take you. Ministry is not about the location or even what you are doing, it's about following the Good Shepherd and listening to His voice. We must fix our eyes on Him and look to the hope of His calling on our lives. 

All glory and praise be unto God. It will never be about me or the work that I can do for Him. Praise His holy name. Praise the God who leads and loves. 

Amen





~David Lukachick

David Lukachick, born in Louisiana, loves southern cooking and amazing coffee. This is his second year teaching English in Taiwan. He is so grateful for the Lord’s leading in his life. The Lord is constantly bringing him to a place to only trust in the Lord. 

1 comment:

  1. Felt like you were talking about me. Weird. Been five years since I left Taiwan.

    ReplyDelete