Last Summer our family visited Florida, and we stopped at a sea turtle hospital. I became enthralled with sea turtles as I listened to the staff describe in detail how these huge creatures nest. At night, a turtle mom laboriously crawls, dragging her heavy clumsy body through the dry sand for long distances to find the perfect nesting spot. She is sensitive to dangers that threaten her hatchlings when they emerge. If she senses danger, she may spend the night in a “false crawl”, opting to return to the sea, exhausted, without laying her eggs. Something as harmless as a beach chair can scare her away from an otherwise perfect nesting spot. It seems silly to us, but she sees her fears as real. They dictate her behavior.
ALL WOUNDS AFFECT US
What fears do I have and how they affect my behavior in my relationship with God? Living in a fallen world as imperfect people, we are all wounded in human relationships. Some wounds are big and obvious; others are small and get brushed aside easily. All wounds affect us. They cause fear that seeps into our relationships, especially our relationship with God.
HOW WE PERCEIVE GOD’S LOVE
It is easy to project the imperfect ways we experience love on earth on how we perceive God’s love for us. In our earthly relationships we may experience apathy, contempt, anger, criticism, neglect, emotional or physical abandonment. Based on our life experiences, deep down we expect God to react with similar behavior when we relate to Him. This can make us fearful to approach or spend time with God. It affects our level of trust and intimacy with Him and dictates our own behavior.
DICTATED BY FEAR
In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), one servant was afraid of the master’s punishment. He hid his talent and did not put it to work. The servant’s fear of the master’s reaction to anything other than perfection paralyzed him. His behavior was dictated by fear.
NOT DICTATED BY FEAR
Thankfully, God’s love for us is vastly different than anything we can experience on earth. He loves imperfect people perfectly. We are chosen, cherished and adored children of God. He yearns to spend time with us, to be intimately involved in a relationship with us, no matter how imperfect we are. “God is perfect and far more lovingly powerful than even out greatest fears. Fear does not have to dictate our behavior toward God.” (Lou Giglio)
“There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love].” (I John 4:18 AMP)
What deep heart fears do you have from past experiences? How are they affecting your perception of God’s love for you? In what manner does your heart expect Him to react to you when you come to Him? We do not have to stay stuck with fear dictating our behavior like the sea turtle. We can grow in our understanding of God’s perfect love for us. Ask Him to help and seek other Christians to be part of your journey closer to God and away from fear.
Prayer: Father, we struggle to wrap our minds around how deeply and perfectly You love us. Please transform our understanding of the joy you find in a relationship with each of us and of how trustworthy You are. Heal the wounds we have sustained in earthly relationships. Lead us closer and closer to You every day as we show up and soak in Your presence. Amen.