There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

1 John 4:18 (MSG)

The cure for fear is not the absence of fear, but rather, the exposure to it. A common reaction to fear is avoidance. But avoiding situations teaches you one thing: fear. And a life guided by fear is a life stolen away from you.

The day we moved from Louisiana to Texas to help start Journey church was one of the scariest days I have ever lived. Not to make more out of it than what it really was, but I experienced a level of fear that literally seized me. Marianne and the girls drove our van and followed me as I drove a moving truck filled with all of our possessions. I had committed to being part of a team that I didn’t really know, was preparing to move into a neighborhood where we knew no one and I was starting a job in an industry I had zero experience in. To top it all off, our family would have to make it all happen on a much smaller income than ever before.

There you go.

There it is.

My source of fear was trusting God. Never before in my life did I literally have to depend on God for so much. Never before was so much on the line. My thoughts were filled with more question marks than definitive statements. In the context of so much newness, these questions didn’t do much to enrich my confidence.

To this day, eleven months later, I still wince at times during the month when we don’t have the money required to make it.

But one thing is very different.

Fear is being banished, overcome by love. The reality and depth of God’s love for me was understood as I was exposed to the fear that consumed me. There is not one day that we have gone without. In fact, we are more confident in God to provide for us in all ways than ever before. And the result is a well-formed, more complete love.

So here’s a question for you: What fearful thing are you avoiding?