I'm Kelly and Snyder. Welcome to Living Perfectly Loved, the podcast created to encourage, equip, and inspire you to live free from fear and full of joy, secure in God's perfect love. If you're longing to stand firm in Christ amidst the storms of life with a faith deeply rooted in God's perfect love, stop anxiety and fear from stealing your joy and controlling your life, shine brightly and love fearlessly, confident in who God uniquely created and called you to be, then this faith-inspiring podcast, full of practical help and spiritual tools, is for you. You're listening to Season One, Episode One, The Father's Love, brought to you by Living Perfectly Loved Ministries and my soon-to-be-released book, Living Perfectly Loved: A Christian's 12-Step Journey to Freedom from the Grip of Anxiety and Fear. For all recommended resources, products, and freebies discussed in this episode, please see the notes for this episode. I'm happy to announce that in each of the following 12 episodes this season, I will be sharing an excerpt from my book containing each of the 12 steps the Lord used to deliver me from the grip of anxiety and fear. In this way, you'll be getting a sneak peek into my book, Living Perfectly Loved. I'm so glad you've decided to join me. Subscribe to my email list today@kellyandsnyder.com and you will be kept in the loop with all book and ministry-related announcements I make, and be eligible to receive all free resources I create and share with my subscribers. Visit my website at kellyandsnyder.com to learn more about Living Perfectly Loved Ministries, including direct links to purchase my book and information that can help you take the next step forward in your faith journey. If you haven't yet listened to my podcast trailer, I'd like to invite you to do so after listening to this episode. All right. Let's get started! To begin our journey to growing in faith and living perfectly loved, I believe we must start with an understanding of our heavenly Father's love for us. The following is an excerpt from the introduction of my book, Living Perfectly Loved, called The Father's Love. There are many different fears people struggle with, and so many people are struggling with fear today. Fear of abandonment. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear of intimacy. Fear of death. Fear the future. Just to name a few. Fear says I cannot trust God to keep me safe. Fear says I must take control of my life. Fear causes us to shrink back and hide, resulting in missed opportunities and unfulfilled God-given destinies. Fear causes anxiety, depression, increases our risk of developing health problems, and more. Fear is a liar. These issues are like heavy chains, binding and oppressing those who have not yet come to understand the depth of their heavenly Father's love for them. Lacking an understanding of their heavenly Father's love for them, so often people believe the lie that if they can do more, perform better, work harder and sacrifice enough to be accepted by others, the void of love they feel in their lives will be filled by others' love and approval. The reality is, striving for the affection and approval of other people can not complete us. This is because no human being is capable of filling the God-shaped hole in our hearts only His perfect love can fill. What began for me in 2011 as a desperate cry for deliverance from anxiety and fear, became a joyous hope-filled journey deeper into the Father's open arms of love. During this time, God revealed to me that His perfect love had the power to cast out all fear, according to 1 John 4:18 which says,"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." Having struggled most of my life with generalized anxiety and fear, I suddenly realized this one revelation from Scripture could completely transform my life and the lives of anyone who might also be struggling with anxiety and fear. It made me realize, it wasn't that I needed to live more perfectly to earn God's perfect love that had the power to drive out fear. I simply had to believe His love was for me and learn how to receive this most precious gift. All fear gone? The biblical truth that perfect love and fear cannot coexist both intrigued and baffled me. In one sense, realizing that because perfect love had the power to free me from the hold anxiety and fear had on my life was liberating. But I was already a believer. This caused me to wonder, could I be a believer in Jesus Christ, be saved for eternity by His loving sacrifice, and yet, not have the perfect love of God rooted and established in my life? It became clear to me that I needed to understand more about what it meant to live perfectly loved. Maybe right now, you're struggling with feelings of hopelessness. You may feel completely overwhelmed by your life circumstances. Maybe you doubt you will ever experience freedom from the grip of anxiety and fear. But I am here to tell you that freedom is possible here in now. You have a Father in heaven who loves you perfectly, and He is longing to take you on a journey, deeper into His perfect love, where fear is rendered powerless and you were free to become who He created you to be. He sees your pain. He knows the depth of your struggle and He wants to meet you right in the middle of it. In the hard and dark places of your heart that feel void of all hope, joy, and life. And in the deep down, hidden places where shame, doubt, anxiety, and fear like to hide out. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will see you through to victory! However, there is only one way to the freedom found in the promise of His perfect love. Jesus said,"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me," John 14, verse six. Once we were separated from the love of our heavenly Father because of our sin, but because of His great love for us, our heavenly Father made a way for us to be reconciled to Him, through belief in His Son Jesus Christ. So, this is where our journey out of living gripped by anxiety and fear towards living perfectly loved must begin, with Jesus. The Bible tells us in John 3, verse 16,"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." If you have yet to decide to make Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of your life, maybe you are ready to take that step of faith now and start your journey to living perfectly loved with Him. If so, you don't have to wait. You can invite Jesus into your life by praying the following prayer out loud or in the quietness of your own heart: Dear Jesus, I need you. I've made choices in my life that I regret. Sin has separated me from your perfect love and the freedom you have wanted to give me. I want to start living my life for you now. I believe that you came to this earth to die on a cross to pay the penalty for all my sin and for the sins of the whole world. I believe you rose again, three days later and conquered death forever. Lord Jesus, please come into my life, forgive me for my sins, and make me the kind of person you want me to be. Help me to become so deeply rooted in your perfect love that anxiety and fear can no longer have a hold on me, in Jesus' name I pray, Amen. If you just prayed to receive Jesus, all of heaven is rejoicing with you now! You have just made the best decision you could ever make in life. Now you're ready to get started on your journey toward living perfectly loved as a new creation in Christ. Whether you are just now beginning your relationship with Jesus, or you have already been a follower for a long time, regardless of the degree to which you are currently struggling with anxiety and fear, I believe God wants to deliver you from the grip of anxiety and fear. You can begin your journey to living perfectly loved by simply calling upon the name of the Lord for help. God is calling you to trust. To take your first steps on a journey toward living free from fear in His perfect love. You may feel unsure, but God knows what you can truly handle with Him. Jesus will be with you to guide you every step of the way. His Holy Spirit, empowering you and encouraging you to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Some days you may take two steps forward and one step back, or one step forward and two steps back. It's okay. God will be there to catch you should you start to fall, or to pick you up and put you back on your feet those times that you do. He will not scold you for making mistakes. He will be there to cheer you on all along the way until you finally arrive in His loving embrace, no longer anxious and afraid. 2 Samuel 22 verse 7 says,"In my distress, I called to the Lord. I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice. My cry came to his ears." Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray for the woman listening right now, who is desperate for Your love. She's overwhelmed by anxiety and fear that has gripped her and needs to know You are near. Please Lord, show her You are with her in the darkness that surrounds her, that You have not left her, that You are right there with her commanding the darkness to flee, ready to lead her into the light of Your perfect love, to restore her peace and bring back joy and happiness. God, she wants to feel happy again. I know what that feels like. I pray that You will begin to gently lead her to the opportunities for deliverance and healing You've already made a way for. It's in Jesus' mighty name I pray, Amen. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Living Perfectly Loved podcast. While it's true that God is love and we are perfectly loved by Him, we all struggle at times to live like this true. While we should strive to grow in Christ likeness, we can rest in knowing God loves us because of who He is, not because of who we are or anything we could ever do for Him. In Jesus Christ, we are enough! Remember, you don't have to be perfect to live perfectly loved. You have always been and will always be a completely forgiven, fully accepted, deeply loved, daughter the King. Beautiful friend, His grace is for you. Please subscribe to my podcast now and stay tuned for another episode of Living Perfectly Loved. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He shine His face on you and be gracious to you. May He turn His face toward you and give you peace, in Jesus' name.