Relationships, Fear, and Jesus

With a new semester starting just days away, I have had a lot on my mind. A lot happened last semester, and it was tough, but it was exciting. When I say that it was exciting, I am referring to the excitement that comes when you look at God's work and realize that He has been so faithful. At the beginning of the semester, God began to place a lot of new people and friends in my life, and throughout the semester, I was able to see the reason that each one was placed in my life, and also to see the potential for relationships in the future. I hate surface-level relationships, and it is exciting to me when I can develop relationships with people and have good conversations. Every relationship, no matter what type, is an opportunity to love someone as God loves us, and to put another person's interests above our own.

Philippians 2:3 says that, in humility, we should count others more significant than ourselves. 1 John 4:19 says that we love because He first loved us. John 15:13 says that there is nothing greater than the man who lays down his life for his friends. It is so challenging for us to love like Jesus, but it is so beautiful when we do. This past semester, the relationships I already had before developed, and I started a lot of new ones. I met a lot of new people, or got to know acquaintances a lot better. You know who you are, but I am so blessed for each relationship in my life, and it is so great to see God working in each one. Every relationship is different, and some are deeper or more personal than others, but if you are open, honest, and genuine in your relationships, each one will be special in its own way.

You will find encouragement, accountability, and love. You will see the light of Christ in others when you may have not seen it before. You will talk about things you have never revealed to anyone other than God. You will share your heart, and you will find that it is a lot easier than you thought. You will realize that you are not perfect, and that no one is. You will see that no relationship can be perfect, but that you can have unconditional love in relationships, and that does make them a lot easier. As you develop strong relationships with people, you learn to judge less and less and to accept, respect, and appreciate more and more. But most of all, you learn that the most important relationship you will ever has is the relationship you have with Jesus Christ. That relationship will always be a struggle, and you will have to learn to devote the most time to it in order to grow, but it will be more than worth it. Without that relationship, you leave a hole in your life that cannot be replaced by anything or anyone else. You can try to fill the hole, but you will constantly fail and look for something else to satisfy you.

I've been thinking about fear recently-fear in relationships. There is a difference between fear and fear of the Lord. Fear comes from Satan, and fear of the Lord comes from one's relationship with the Lord. Fear of the Lord is good. But fear is not good. When we fear, we are allowing Satan to control us, to manipulate our feelings. We allow anxiety to take over. The Lord tells us not to fear, for He is with us, and He will never leave or forsake us. We are to not fear the future or to be anxious about what is to come. Proverbs 31:30 says that a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised. People who fear the Lord are serious about their relationship with Him. They want to please Him in everything they do, but they also know that we please the Lord through our faith, not by our works. They trust the Lord with their lives, and they believe that He has a perfect plan. They are not anxious about what is to come, but they have faith that He has it under control.
Luke 1:50 says that "his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation." Our relationship with the Lord should be based on fear, but a fear of the Lord, which is also a realization and appreciation of the mercy He gives to us. If we want our other relationships to mirror our relationship with Christ, then we need to allow our fear of the Lord to control those relationships. Trust the Lord to work in your relationships with other people, and to use them to allow your relationship with Him to improve. Ask Him to show you ways to improve your relationships, and ways that you can learn from each other and encourage one another. Thank Him for the relationships that you have, and pray that they will continue to develop into Christ-like relationships, and that they will last.

Our earthly relationships are not eternal, but our relationship with God is. It is the toughest relationship to maintain unless you are disciplined and genuinely want to grow, but it is also the easiest relationship to have. Christ offers everyone the chance to have a relationship with Him because He loves each one of us and died for each of us. He wants to work in us and change us, and He also wants to show who He is through the other relationships we have. Treasure your relationships, and make your relationship with God the most important, and it will change the way you look at life, and the way you look at the other relationships in your life.