{"id":7430,"date":"2025-10-08T16:17:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=7430"},"modified":"2026-01-25T10:57:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T15:57:55","slug":"dont-postpone-joy-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=7430","title":{"rendered":"(The Everlasting Way) Transforming Awareness: The Power of God’s Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

Raymond had given up. It seems he\u2019d failed at every opportunity in life. Though he was still a young man, his hopes were drained. What he’d always wanted to do was help people, but now he couldn’t even help himself.<\/p>\n

His meager inheritance from his dad yielded only enough money for a semester in college. And when he missed the filing deadline to receive a grant, he’d have to drop out and move out of his dorm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After receiving the news, he stopped for a while at his mom\u2019s grave, who\u2019d committed suicide when he was seven. Going on in the grave yard, he found his dad\u2019s grave, dug almost a year ago. He was a consummate entrepreneur, always on the brink of something big. He had such high hopes for his latest discoveries and was sure he could use what he\u2019d developed to make a difference, to help those in desperate need. But a stroke cut his life and dreams short.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, his only child was the one in desperate need.<\/p>\n

Raymond sat down on a bench, buried his head in his hands and wept. A feeling of emptiness and poverty filled his soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cRaymond Anderson?\u201d<\/p>\n

Raymond opened his eyes to find an elderly black man standing over him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone instructed me to give you this,\u201d he said, handing Raymond a legal-sized brown envelope.<\/p>\n

Raymond received the envelope, noticing there was no return address – just his name.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s it from?\u201d Raymond asked, looking up. But the man was gone.<\/p>\n

He opened the envelope and began to read:<\/p>\n

Mr. Raymond Anderson,\n\nI\u2019m delighted to inform you that shortly before your father passed away, a large corporation purchased his patent right out. Based on the terms of the contract and his will, which I drew up for him as his lawyer, you have received $500,000,000 as his sole heir. He has also designated you as his benevolence agent to give away another $500,000,000 to the charities and needs of your choice. Even though this money has been at your disposal for almost a year, your father instructed me to wait until now to let you know.\n\nPlease come by my law office as soon as you can so we can meet and begin turning over the funds to you.\n\nSincerely,\nWalter H. James     <\/code><\/pre>\n
Being Made Aware<\/span><\/h3>\n
Raymond suddenly became aware of his possessions and grand purpose. This knowledge changed everything about his life. He had a mission he could wake up to every morning.<\/p>\n
As believers in Jesus Christ, a change in our awareness could have even greater ramifications on our lives than Raymond had. In our case, what we need to be aware of is beyond change and corruption.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n
What are some ways that an awareness of God\u2019s love for us can transform our lives?<\/p>\n
God\u2019s Love Drives out Fear<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (I John 4:18<\/strong>).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
As I examine my heart, fear is the root of much of my sin. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of poverty. Fear of unhappiness. Fear of . . .\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fear causes worry and robs me of peace, which is essential.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the above verses, John writes about a perfect love flowing from God, which drives out fear. To the degree that we realize God\u2019s amazing love for us, our fears melt away and peace reigns in our hearts.<\/p>\n
As I ponder these truths concerning God\u2019s perfect love, different nagging fears come to mind, particularly fear of failure and fear of rejection. These fears have sometimes sent me down destructive paths. But more and more, the reality of a love that literally casts out fear is growing in my heart.<\/p>\n
As I write, I imagine a life with no fear. Fearless. Oh, the freedom! Oh, the joy! And it\u2019s not just something to wish for. God\u2019s perfect love is genuine, the destroyer of all fears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
God\u2019s Love Enables Our Obedience<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
And He said to him, \u201c\u2018You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.\u2019 This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.\u201d (Matthew 22:37-40<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
These verses summarize the Bible, instructing us first to love.<\/p>\n
We love, because He first loved us (I John 4:19<\/strong>)<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n
But our love must originate with His love for us,<\/p>\n
Because God loves us, we are able to love Him and others.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s love for us empowers and guides us. Like a cart being pulled along by a horse (God’s love), our works of obedience (loving) flow from His love for us.<\/p>\n
It’s not the other way around. Our obedience doesn’t gain God’s love. That’s like putting the cart before the horse and horses make terrible cart pushers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
God’s love for us gives us the ability to obey His commands to love.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s Love Roots and Grounds Us<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
For this reason I\u00a0bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to\u00a0the riches of His glory, to be\u00a0strengthened with power through His Spirit in\u00a0the inner man, so that\u00a0Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;\u00a0and\u00a0that you, being\u00a0rooted and\u00a0grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the\u00a0saints what is\u00a0the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19<\/strong> NASB)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
God\u2019s love for us surpasses our knowledge. It\u2019s beyond our understanding and our intellect. Paul prays we might grasp the superlative dimensions of God\u2019s love in our hearts. What does not fit in our heads can dwell in our hearts as God is pleased to illuminate it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
God\u2019s love roots us and grounds us, establishing a firm foundation for our lives. When God\u2019s surpassing love is revealed and made real to us, our souls are increasingly secured against the storms and trials of life.<\/p>\n
Prayer<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Lord, may my comprehension of Your amazing love for me continue to grow as I bathe in it. Thank You for chasing away my every fear with Your perfect love. Please remind me quickly when fears arise. Thank you that Your love enables me to love You. May I receive Your love and give it away.\u00a0 Thank You for delighting in being with me. Please help me grasp Your love more and more. Steady my heart on the firm foundation of Your delight in me.\u00a0Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n
Reflections<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Previously, in Embracing God\u2019s Amazing Love<\/a>, we established that God\u2019s love for us:<\/p>\n