Love Makes Us Brave

I'm a people person. I really am. But, I'm going to be honest here. Sometimes, I'm struck with a terrible dose of a poison called 'the fear of man.' Fear of man is debilitating. It literally stops me in my tracks. I hate it to its core. I hate how it gets in the way. The Bible says to "Love your neighbor" not fear your neighbor. But when we allow fear to reign, there's no room for love. 

A couple months ago, I ran into my college campus pastor that literally helped establish me in the Christian faith. I was newly saved and a freshman on campus and the Lord lead me into this incredible ministry filled with love and worship and fellowship and solid preaching. I hadn't seen him in nearly 30 years, but there he was at a festival I happened to be attending. You would think my first reaction would be to run up to him to say hello. But strangely it wasn't. My first reaction was fear. Fear of man. Even typing this out right now, I realize how ridiculous that was. But the feeling was very strong! 

My husband was with me and he said, "Well, ya gonna go over and say hi?" And I said, "I can't. I'm too nervous." He said, "Nervous?? What in the world could you be nervous about?" And I said, "Well, ya know I can be shy sometimes..." And that's when my husband looked at me and just laughed and laughed and said, "SHY?? You are not shy girl. hahaha!" I chuckled nervously knowing he was right. What was wrong with me in that moment? Why was I so frozen? 

And that's when the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "Valerie, he needs your encouragement right now." I could feel the sincerity and sweetness from the Spirit of God and an urging from Him. I could feel His love growing in my heart and replacing the fear. "He needs My love right now, Valerie. Be brave. Be brave and let Me love him through you right now." How could I resist the Lord's sweet, tender voice in that moment? 

So, I rebuked the fear that came against me like a tidal wave and told it to hush, ran over and said a grand hello to Ed. I gave him a big hug and said, "Ya know, Ed, I want tell you how much of a role you have played in my life! There are still things you preached 30 years ago that replay in my head today. You have had a great influence on me!" In that moment I could see the look of amazement in his eyes, as if he had forgotten how much seed he had planted years ago and here was the harvest standing in front of him. "Wow," was all he could say.

Love made me brave that day. Choosing to love and resisting fear was the game changer. It always is. So, I'm going to try to remember that every time I get afraid. I'm going to choose love. Because love never fails. 

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