Marriage And Disabilityናሙና

No Room for Fear

Disability can provide fertile ground for fear—fear about the future, fear of becoming a burden, fear of pain and suffering.

Yet John, the beloved disciple, teaches us that God’s perfect love casts out all fear. The Bible says “fear not,” over and over—365 times, to be exact. Why? Because when fear is present, we are not living out the love that flows from our faith in God or trusting the One who is in control of all our circumstances.

How do we live secure in his perfect love? Movies, television shows, and popular music portray love as a feeling. It is . . . and it’s not—love is more often a choice that we must make many times a day. We can decide to trust God with the what-ifs that plague our minds, or we can take those thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). If we trust God to deal with sin in a spouse’s life, we will be able to respond with kindness and compassion instead of anger.

The more we strive to live out God’s perfect love instead of our own fear, the more freedom we find. Fear keeps us in bondage. Paul teaches in Romans 8:15 that when we accepted Christ, we were set free: “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves.” We are God’s children and we can trust that, just like a loving father, he is always there for us.

Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Our strength will always come from trusting God and his plan for our lives. We’ll be able to weed out the areas where fear has taken root and make room for God to teach us how to live. Eventually, we’ll be able to unclench our fists and lay our struggles at the foot of the cross. And when uncertain times arise (which they will), we’ll rest in God’s glorious peace and his purpose for our families.