Love Never StopsSample

Day 5: The Call for Courage

Love never stops, so courage never stops. It is the history of God’s people (the Church that Jesus is building, Mat 16:18) that whenever persecution, plague, famine, or disease sets in, God’s light shines brightest through those unwilling to allow the light of God to be extinguished. There has long existed a rallying cry among the saints of God, “We will not bow down to fear!” Not at the threat of our lives, not in our own self-interest, not even amid a pandemic do we fail to represent God because God’s love empowers us to be bold rather than fearful.

“18 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. 19 We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:18-19).”

As the people of God, we don’t stand up to fear on our own. We are not to do anything on our own. We are to be purposeful in allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us to continue the work He has called us to do, ensuring that our love never stops. This is why the Apostle John taught us, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).” God’s Spirit is incredibly mighty on the inside of us, and there is way more of God in us than there is evil around us. God has made us strong and He is raising up a people for Himself who stand for what He stands for at the exact moments that He is standing for it.

We are able to stand for what God stands for because His Spirit empowers us. We are empowered to do great things because we draw our courage from Him. It’s no coincidence that “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (Rom 8:11).” Jesus was able to touch a leper and make him clean. “40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, ‘If you will, you can make me clean.’ 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, ‘I will; be clean (Mk 1:40-41).’” Worldly wisdom teaches that that shouldn’t happen. Jesus should have been made unclean, but Jesus didn’t fear, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the opposite happened. The question is, what will you be empowered to do? How is God calling you to live like Jesus? Whose life will you touch and see transformed, without fearing the unknown? How will you partner with God so that your love never stops?

Reflection/Discussion Questions

What do you fear? How many of your fears have actually happened?

How would love overcome your fear?

Think about a time that you felt empowered to stand up and face a risk to serve. What happened? What was the result in your life?