{"id":5256,"date":"2024-01-04T15:20:32","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T20:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=5256"},"modified":"2024-11-10T17:44:48","modified_gmt":"2024-11-10T22:44:48","slug":"when-i-dont-feel-gods-lovingkindness-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=5256","title":{"rendered":"The Cake Maker’s Blunder (Republished in the Moments)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bride had waited for this moment since she was a little girl. She\u2019d be marrying the man of her dreams. And she had the perfect verse for her wedding cake, There is no fear in love; but\u00a0perfect love casts out fear<\/em> (I John 4:18<\/strong> NASB).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

She struggled with fear and wanted God\u2019s perfect love to cast it out.<\/p>\n

The week of the wedding came, and the final preparations were being made when she got a call from the cake maker. \u201cAre you absolutely sure you want I John 4:18 on your wedding cake?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery sure. It\u2019s one of my favorites.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d the baker responded. \u201cIt\u2019s your wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bride didn\u2019t have the brain space to give the call much thought, but later she wished she\u2019d followed up.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The cake maker wasn\u2019t familiar with the Bible. He thought 1 John meant the first book of John he came across. So, the surprised bride got John 4:18<\/span><\/strong> on her cake instead, \u201cfor you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The bride was mortified. But over time, as the pain of embarrassment wore off, the cake maker\u2019s blunder became a story of laughter for the couple. And they\u00a0 continued to ask the Lord to show them how perfect love casts out fear.<\/p>\n

How Does Perfect Love Cast Out Fear?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Perfect Love<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

The Greek word John used for \u201cperfect\u201d means completed, finished, lacking nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n

God\u2019s love is perfect, like a swaddled child, safe and warm in its mother\u2019s embrace. \u00a0God\u2019s presence yields a transcendent peace which surpasses all comprehension in the face of any fear [1].<\/p>\n

Paul describes the quality of God\u2019s perfect love, in Ephesians 3:14-19<\/span><\/strong>. He prays we might comprehend it, though it surpasses our knowledge.<\/p>\n

For this reason I\u00a0bend my knees before the Father,\u00a015\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>from whom\u00a0every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,\u00a016\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>that He would grant you, according to\u00a0the riches of His glory, to be\u00a0strengthened with power through His Spirit in\u00a0the inner\u00a0self,\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>so that\u00a0Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;\u00a0and\u00a0that you, being\u00a0rooted and\u00a0grounded in love,\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>may be able to comprehend with\u00a0all the\u00a0saints what is\u00a0the width and length and height and depth,\u00a019\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>and to know\u00a0the love of Christ which\u00a0surpasses knowledge, that you may be\u00a0filled to all the\u00a0fullness of God.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

When I read Paul\u2019s description of God’s love, I picture a love as deep and long and wide as the ocean and as high as the sky.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

God\u2019s perfect love truly surpasses our knowledge. Paul prays that what won’t fit in our heads will come alive in our hearts, our love receptor. [2]<\/p>\n

Disagreeing with Lies<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

God\u2019s love grounds us. So, it\u2019s no wonder our enemy uses doubt and feat to try and block our awareness of it.<\/p>\n

As much as God is love, Satan is fear. He\u2019s a defeated foe and his tactics don\u2019t change. He relentlessly uses deception and empty fear to try and lure us away from resting in God\u2019s great love for us.<\/p>\n

But our weapons of truth and prayer are divinely powerful to demolish these fortified strongholds, destroying his work in our lives and casting out his fear.<\/p>\n

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war\u00a0according to the flesh,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>4\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>for the\u00a0weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but\u00a0divinely powerful\u00a0for the destruction of fortresses.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>5\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>We are\u00a0destroying speculations and every\u00a0lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and\u00a0we are\u00a0taking every thought captive to the\u00a0obedience of Christ<\/em> (II Corinthians 10:3-5<\/strong> NASB).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Our job is to take every thought captive. Soaking in the truth of God\u2019s perfect love, we learn to disagree with Satan\u2019s lies and cast away his fear.<\/p>\n

Remaining in Perfect Love<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

In addition to praying for our hearts to be enlightened with God\u2019s perfect love, and disagreeing with Satan\u2019s lies, Jesus gives us clear instruction as to how we can continually live in His perfect love.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>\u201cAs the Father has loved me,\u00a0so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>10\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>If you keep my commands,\u00a0you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father\u2019s commands and remain in his love.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>11\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>12\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.<\/em>\u201d (<\/em>John 15:9-12<\/em><\/strong> NIV)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In these vital words, Jesus helps us understand the depth of His perfect love toward us. \u201cAs the Father has loved me,\u00a0so have I loved you.<\/em><\/span> \u00a0How could love be any more perfect than this?<\/p>\n

Then He tells us how to remain or live in His love. To remain in His perfect love, which dispels fear, we\u2019re to love others as He\u2019s loved us.\u00a0“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And the love we’re to love with, comes from Him. \u201cWe love, because He first loved us\u201d (I John 4:19<\/strong> NASB).\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>(The verse after the bride’s verse).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The great cadence of our lives, which dispels every fear, is to receive God\u2019s perfect love and give it away.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Prayer<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Dear Lord, I thank You that You\u2019ve provided a way for me to live in Your perfect love. <\/em><\/p>\n

Please empower me to quickly disagree with any lie about Your complete love for me. When fear rises from the evil one, may I quickly give it to You. I don\u2019t want to give the enemy a seat at my table. (From the title of a book by Louie Giglio) <\/em>[3]<\/p>\n

Please give me a love first mentality throughout each day. \u00a0I don’t want to get so tangled up in the duties that I miss the people you bring me to love. May I yield to You to love through me.<\/em><\/p>\n

I depend upon You to work these in me. I can’t do them without You. <\/em><\/p>\n

Come what may, fear has absolutely no place in my life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Amen. <\/em><\/p>\n

[1] Philippians 4:6-7<\/p>\n

[2] Ephesians 1:18-20<\/p>\n

[3] Don\u2019t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table<\/u>, Louie Giglio, Passion Publishing 2021<\/p>\n

Other Posts in our Rhythms of Joy Series:<\/span><\/p>\n

Joy is Important Because it’s an Experience of God<\/a><\/p>\n

The Amazing Connection Between Grace and Joy<\/a><\/p>\n

Moving from Discouraged to Encouraged<\/a><\/p>\n

Coming to Terms with Hard Things<\/a><\/p>\n

What About Me?<\/a><\/p>\n

Pleasing Pop<\/a><\/p>\n

In the Shadow of Emmanuel<\/a><\/p>\n

Please Check out the\u00a0 <\/span>Cola City Podcast<\/a> . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God\u2019s nearness in the midst of life\u2019s adventures.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Novels by the Author:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Rob Buck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?\u00a0\u00a0Beyond Time<\/a><\/p>\n

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family\u00a0Hope Remains<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/sup><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bride had waited for this moment since she was a little girl. She\u2019d marry the man of her dreams. And she had the perfect verse for her wedding cake, There is no fear in love; but\u00a0perfect love casts out fear (I John 4:18 NASB).<\/p>\n

She struggled with fear and loved that God\u2019s perfect love would cast it out.<\/p>\n

The week of the wedding came, and the final preparations were being made when she got a call from the cake maker. \u201cAre you absolutely sure you want I John 4:18 on your wedding cake?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery sure. It\u2019s one of my favorites.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d the baker responded. \u201cIt\u2019s your wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bride didn\u2019t have the brain space to give the call much thought, but later she wished she\u2019d followed up.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The cake maker wasn\u2019t familiar with the Bible. He thought 1 John meant the first book of John he came across. So, the surprised bride got John 4:18 on her cake instead, \u201cfor you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bride was mortified. But over time, as the pain of embarrassment wore off, the cake maker\u2019s blunder became a story of laughter each anniversaries.<\/p>\n

As a central theme in their marriage, the couple continued to ask the Lord how perfect love drives out fear.<\/p>\n

How Does Perfect Love Cast Out Fear?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3009],"tags":[1153,2849,3013,2212,2813,3016,423,3020,2889,3022,3019,3029,2221,2032,2976,814,3024,493,39,18,2850,3011,172,1068,2991,510,271,3014,1235,3021,3027,3015,2208,235,89,3025,1154,484,3023,3018,1053,1071,3017,1063,26,3012,3010],"class_list":["post-5256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fearless","tag-abiding","tag-beyond-time","tag-cake-maker","tag-casting-out-fear","tag-cola-city-podcast","tag-completed","tag-courage","tag-deception","tag-deepen-trust-in-god","tag-defeated-foe","tag-disagreeing-with-lies","tag-ephesians-118-20","tag-ephesians-314-19","tag-eternal-god","tag-fathers-love","tag-fear","tag-fellowship","tag-following-jesus","tag-gods-nearness","tag-holy-spirit","tag-hope-remains","tag-i-john-418","tag-i-john-419","tag-ii-corinthians-103-5","tag-isaiah-714","tag-jesus-christ","tag-john-159-12","tag-john-418","tag-lacking-nothing","tag-lies","tag-louie-giglio","tag-perfect","tag-perfect-love","tag-philippians-46-7","tag-prayer","tag-quality-of-love","tag-remaining","tag-satan","tag-strongholds","tag-surpasses-knowledge","tag-surpassing-love","tag-taking-every-thought-captive","tag-transcendent-peace","tag-trusting-god","tag-truth","tag-wedding","tag-wedding-cake"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5256"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6480,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions\/6480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}