Perfect love...

Perfect love. What does that even mean?

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Love without fault... Is it that simple? A love that is so flawless it is incapable of failure...

Where am I going with this? Well I'm about to show you...

There are times in my life, especially recently, where I have been fearful to talk to the Lord because I'm scared of what He is going to say or what He is going to tell me to do. Silly, I know, but that's how I've felt. So of course, this fear only leads to me avoiding time with the One who loves me best.

Recently, some bigger than usual decisions have become present in my life. They are decisions that seem obvious at first thought. Decisions that I thought were no-brainers. But after making the decision in my head, I realized that I hadn't even consulted the one who already knew which way I needed to choose for the fork in front of me. As I gathered my Bible to spend some time in the word for direction, thats when I felt it. Fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear that I wasn't going to like what I heard when I got quiet enough to hear my Father's voice. It felt crippling. I know I can't be the only one who has felt this way, so I want to send some encouragement in your direction...

"Perfect love casts out all fear". The sweet essence of those words resonated in my soul as I started to delved into the word with a heart filled with fear. Side note- don't you just love how the Lord loves you right in the midst of your weakest moments, and how he doesn't make you get to a "holy" place before he ministers to your heart. So sweet! Anyway, I could feel the Lord leading me to take a step in faith and be silent. Just to listen... I closed my eyes and simply stated, "Lord, I want what you want." What I heard next was not what I expected...

I heard John Mark McMillan singing "How He Loves". "How he loves us, oh how he loves us, how he loves us..." Over and over. Then, I just saw the face of Jesus saying "I love you". What peace came with that. Then gently in my spirit, I heard the Lord say "Go". Again, over and over. Nothing more than go, but I knew in that moment what He wanted me to do, and you know what... there was peace with the direction. There was NO fear. Perfect love really does expel all fear.

Fear in this area is a sick way the enemy will try to keep us from talking to our Father. Don't let him lie to you. Know that whenever the Father tells you to do something, He always has your best interests, safety, pleasure, prosperity and plans in mind. Your heart is His number one priority.

I want to leave you with this verse. My mom shared it with me a few days ago, and I love it.

"...And he has showered down upon us the richness of his grace- for how well he understands us and knows what is best for us at all times."

Ephesians 1:8