What are the top fears that are fighting against your confidence and faith in this season of your life? Are they fears of rejection? Failure? Success? Are they fears for your loved ones, your health, or that you will never measure up in some part of your life? Are they cringing fears about the future?
There is something you need to know about the fears that plague you. They are a lot like vampires. They suck the life out of you, they are most powerful at night, and they cannot survive the sunlight.
In classic thriller literature, vampires burn up in the sun, and it is the same with our fears. Fear grows best in the dark when it is kept secret and left to work unhindered on our faith and imaginations.
Our fears grow best in dark places, and when we keep them there, hidden and alone, their power will eventually drain us of our perspective, our confidence, and our faith in God’s goodness and love. Conversely, 1 John 4:18 says, “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.”
Whenever we struggle with a constricting fear—when fear’s icy fingers trace designs across our soul—it is a sign that we are not being perfected in love. When fear gets the upper hand, we need fresh exposure to God’s unconditional love because fear cannot live there. When fear is exposed to the light of God’s love it immediately starts wilting and losing its power.
So again, what are you afraid of today? What is troubling or terrifying you? Name your fears and then compare them to what Jesus revealed about the love of God. Ask God for a new understanding of His love and fresh experience of its reality. Expose your fears to the truth and light of Scripture, friendships, and wise counsel. Then watch your fears start to shrivel and dissolve—just like vampires in the old books and movies used to do.