Behold Until Fear Loses Its Voice

The Father isn’t asking us to try harder. He’s inviting us to look at His Son until our hearts are transformed.

God is Not Asking You to Pretend

There was a line in a prophetic word I recently read that resonated with my heart.

“God is not asking you to pretend. He is inviting you to behold His Son until fear loses its voice.”

I sat with those words for a long time because they perfectly described what God has been revealing to me during our daily, morning “porch times.”

For years, I thought faith meant saying the right things, even when my heart wasn’t convinced.

If I just declared truth often enough…
If I confessed the right verses…
If I avoided speaking fear…

Maybe eventually my heart would believe.

But it never worked.

Not because God’s Word wasn’t true, but because I was trying to use my words to accomplish what only a revelation of Jesus could accomplish.

What Religion Teaches

Religion often teaches us to silence fear.

Don’t say you’re afraid.

Don’t admit your doubts.

Confess this instead.

Use better words.

The problem is that fear can become quieter without ever leaving. It simply hides behind carefully crafted language while our hearts remain unchanged.

But the Father doesn’t seem interested in teaching us how to hide fear.

He wants to replace it.

Jesus Revealed the Father

John writes,

“Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

He doesn’t say that perfect confession casts out fear.

He says perfect love does.

How?

By revealing Himself.

This is what Jesus did everywhere He went. He wasn’t primarily managing people’s vocabulary. He was revealing the Father.

He didn’t hand frightened disciples a formula in the middle of the storm. He came to them, walking on the water.

He didn’t tell Thomas to repeat that the resurrection was true. He invited him to touch His scars.

He didn’t ask the disciples on the road to Emmaus to declare victory. He opened the Scriptures until their hearts burned within them.

Revelation came first.

Confession followed.

That has been my own story.

My Words Have Changed

Looking back, I can hear how my language has changed over the past year. Not because I’ve become better at positive confession, but because I’ve spent time with Him.

I’ve watched Him patiently reveal His heart.

I’ve begun to see His kindness where I once expected disappointment.

I’ve begun to see His presence where I once only noticed my circumstances.

I’ve begun to see myself through His eyes instead of my own fears.

And as my heart has been persuaded, my words have naturally changed.

Not because I’m trying harder.

Because I’m seeing more clearly.

Paul prayed that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened.

Jesus invited us to abide.

John wrote that we become like Him as we behold Him.

The pattern throughout Scripture is remarkably consistent.

We don’t become by striving harder.

We become by seeing Him more clearly.

There Were Two Trees in the Garden

Perhaps that’s the difference between the two trees in the garden.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil says:

“Learn the right information. Follow the right formula. Produce the right behavior.”

The Tree of Life simply says:

“Receive Life Himself.”

One works from the outside in.

The other transforms from the inside out.

The Kingdom has never been about pretending.

The Father has never asked us to fake faith or bury fear beneath polished Christian language.

He invites us to behold His Son until fear no longer has the loudest voice.

Not because we’ve finally learned what to say.

But because we’ve come to know the One who has been speaking over us all along.

And when that happens, our words are no longer an effort to convince ourselves.

They become the natural overflow of hearts that have finally been persuaded by Love.

In everything you do -eat, play, and love- may it always be Seasoned with Joy!

Let’s Continue to Go Deeper…