There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].
1 John 4:18 (AMPC)
How can you tell when your love for God has grown? One way to know is if you’re experiencing less fear.
You see, as you grow in God’s Word and develop in this love walk, you push out fear.
If you struggle with being afraid of what people think about you, the answer is to develop your love walk with God. If you’re worried about the future, develop your love walk. You see, the more you love God and experience His love for you, the less you worry about what others think of you and the more con dent you become in God’s plans for your life.
When you grow in love, you struggle less with jealousy and insecurity. You worry less about whether or not you fit in. All that stuff the world is freaking out about begins to dissipate under developed love.
Develop your love for God the same way you do in any relationship. In a relationship, you develop love through heartache and hard times, by making memories and sharing victories. You plant the seeds—you give when you have nothing to give, you are patient when you want to be angry, you love when the other person seems unlovable—and the harvest is this developed, mature love. And oh, is it worth it!
The same is true of the love of God. Mature it into a powerful love and your whole life will change.