deep love casts out fear: a talk

driving through nebraska

happy sunday friends! last week i shared a message in church & this morning i felt like i should post it on the blog as well. i hope it encourages you this week <3

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at church we have a bunch of new hymns, and there's a place to read about the history of them online. i want to share what is written about the song “oh the deep, deep love of Jesus.” it reads,

the apostle paul expressed his wish that all people could understand “the breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of “the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” (ephesians 3:18–19). the words of this hymn describe how that divine love lifts and carries us. the text was written by samuel trevor francis, an english lay preacher and poet.

while compiling the volume of poetry that included the text of “oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus,” francis became afflicted with partial blindness. despite the darkness in his vision, he hoped his poetry would “show how light, hope and joy may be found.”

the text compares the ocean’s powerful current to the Savior’s infinite love, which is “vast, unmeasured, boundless, free—rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!” the music reflects this image in the motion of its melody and bass lines, which in their rise and fall are meant to depict the movement of ocean waves.

think of something or someone you love deeply and why. then think of Jesus Christ’s love: deep—endless, strong, and constant—and how this hymn compares His love to the ocean.

so let’s dive in to some scriptures that relate with this hymn.

romans 8:31-29

if God is for us, who can be against us? ... who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. for i am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

→ i love these verses because we learn that no depth can be deeper than the level of Jesus’s love for us

1 nephi 11:21–23

and the angel said unto me: behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! do you know the meaning of the tree which your father saw? and i answered him, saying: yes, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. and he spoke unto me, saying: yes, and the most joyous to the soul.

→ in these verses, we learn that God’s love is joyous! it is what makes life beautiful & happy.

psalm 139:8-13

if i ascend to heaven, You are there! if i make my bed in hell, You are there! if i take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. if i say, “surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 

→ i love this verse because it helps me remember that there is nowhere i can go that is too far away from the love of Jesus.

i’m now going to share the background of another new hymn, titled “God’s gracious love.”

swedish hymn writer lina sandell-berg had several experiences that might have made her wonder how she could continue moving forward. as a child, she battled a serious, prolonged illness. then at age 25, she witnessed her beloved father being swept overboard at sea. yet throughout her life, she expressed her faith in God’s goodness by writing more than 600 hymns.

the idea for “God’s Gracious love” began when sandell-berg read a short story about a clock’s pendulum that found courage for its endless task by focusing on just one tick at a time. this story inspired sandell-berg to write a poem that became the text for this hymn. it was her personal testament that we can endure uncertainty and fear by focusing on what is immediately before us and trusting in God’s love one day at a time.

→ so why is the love of Jesus so powerful? what does it really mean & how does it impact us?

in 1 john 4:18 we read: 

“there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 

elder utchdorf explained:

it is true that fear can have a powerful influence over our actions and behavior. but that influence tends to be temporary and shallow. fear rarely has the power to change our hearts, and it will never transform us into people who love what is right and who want to obey Heavenly Father.

people who are fearful may say and do the right things, but they do not feel the right things. they often feel helpless and resentful, even angry. over time these feelings lead to mistrust, defiance, even rebellion.

as His covenant people, we need not be paralyzed by fear because bad things might happen. Instead, we can move forward with faith, courage, determination, and trust in God as we approach the challenges and opportunities ahead.

→ so how can God’s love help us overcome our fear?

one of my favorite athletes, sydney mclaughlin-levrone, is an olympic champion in 400 m hurdles in  2020 and 2024; as well as being first woman to ever break four world records in the same event. in her autobiography, far beyond gold: running from fear to faith, sydney writes about how her faith and relationship with God helped her run with a new confidence: one rooted in the love of God. i love how she puts it this way: “my main identity is that i’m a daughter of God. i belong to Him.”

but when she began her running career, specifically before and after running in the olympic trials as a sixteen-year-old, sydney was full of fear. she says,

“since that time, i’ve often asked myself why i was so afraid. you may know that kind of fear: the kind that freezes you, stops you in your tracks, and makes you forget everything you’ve worked for and everything you want. it feels like a curse, as if it’s completely out of your control. why was this happening to me? why, suddenly, did i want nothing to do with my dreams of olympic glory? it wasn’t because i thought i had no chance of making the team. … if i wasn’t afraid of losing or terrified of disappointing my parents, why was i dreading the finals? fueling my fear was an idea i couldn’t shake: a sense of identity that came to define me. as a sixteen-year-old i’d convinced myself that my worth and value were intertwined with my performance on the track. it wasn’t enough to just be a runner, i had to be a winner. i viewed my victories as value. … in order to receive love and respect from others, i had to finish first. if i didn’t what good was i?”

she believed in God, but she didn’t really know Him. she says, “i didn’t really know what that mysterious God who gave me speed was like--His love and care for me. without that relationship, fear was in charge.”

during the us nationals in 2021, sydney had a break-through on the track. “what are you afraid of? i asked myself as i dug my feet into the blocks seconds before the race. what’s the worst that could happen? why not just go out there and attack every hurdle? why not run, for once, without fear? from the moment the gun went off until the finish line, i ran without fear. i don’t know why i was able to push away the uncertainty and attack every hurdle, but it happened. i still didn’t win the race, but it was the best time i’d run in my life in that event.”

her faith continued to grow, and during the olympic trials that year, she recalls:

“at that moment, i believed, truly believed, that God was going to carry me around the track. i was in His hands. for the first time at the starting line, i felt free to trust in God’s plan. with my mind focused solely on Him, there was no room for fear to creep in. He was my stronghold. i felt truly euphoric.” that was the day she became the first woman in history to break the 52 second record in the 400m hurdles. this success and peace continued in the future, with her winning gold in the olympics.  

she explains that the next year “at the world championships in 2022, i’d run with confidence. not confidence in myself. i’d tried that in the past, and it had led only to crippling anxiety and lackluster performances. instead, i’d run with confidence in God and His promises. i’d learned that in racing, and in life, God gives you exactly what you need to run the race He has for you. He gives graces and help to all those who look to Him, not themselves, for strength, courage, peace, and joy. … i’d needed His grace those last 50 meters on the track. He kept me on my feet and pushed me across the finish line. all glory goes to Him.”

sydney has continued to break records and perform incredibly, becoming a top performer in history. but what i love about her story is her trust in God, and seeing how this faith in His love and power helped her overcome her fear.

let’s return to 1 john 4:18:

“there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 

→  how do we become perfected in love?

• feel God’s love for us by knowing who we are & our worth

• glorify God in what we do

• help others feel love instead of fear

FIRST // we become perfected in love by feeling God’s love for us by knowing who we are & our worth, which casts out fears of self-doubt, hate, and shame.

feeling God’s love is knowing who you are as His child and not confusing your worth

🔗 sister runia’s talk: your repentance doesn’t burden Jesus Christ, it brightens His joy 

your worth isn’t tied to obedience. your worth is constant; it never changes. it was given to you by God, and there’s nothing you or anyone else can do to change it. obedience brings blessings; that is true. but worth isn’t one of them. your worth is always “great in the sight of God,” no matter where your decisions have taken you.

→ knowing our worth is constant exemplifies the depth of the love Jesus has for us. nothing can change our worth because it comes from the Lord.

feeling God’s love is receiving the gift of being loved as His child 

🔗elder kearon’s talk: receive His gift

…a vital gift of knowledge that, when fully accepted and received deep in the soul, contextualises the joys and hardships of life and our unanswered questions: it is that we really are God’s children. that truth is breathtaking! stunning! and it is not figurative.

imagine you are hearing this for the first time! You really are His cherished daughter. you really are His precious son. and the path you are on is His plan of happiness. with His omniscient love, He knows exactly who you were before you were sent to earth and what you have experienced so far in your mortal life, and He has mercifully planned for your every tomorrow. and oh, how He yearns to one day have you return to Him, to receive the supreme intent of all His beautiful gifts, eternal life with Him. 

when you welcome this majestic reality into your very soul and feel both the comfort and the thrill of it, your entire paradigm shifts! you can feel His love, hear His voice, and recognise His hand, no matter what is happening, or not happening, in your life. you can redefine how you see yourself and others. your covenant bond with your Saviour becomes even stronger, and through the lens of this sweet gift, life takes on new brilliance, beauty, and hope.

→ knowing who we are as children of God and truly receiving this gift gives us strength and power against the devil, who wants to convince us we are nothing and no one. it is a shield against his weapons, like a force field of love protecting us. 

SECOND // we become perfected in love by glorifying God in what we do

in her book, sydney wrote:

“as a Christian, i now existed to glorify God. i was learning all the ways my life wasn’t about me. it was about showing the world God’s power, wisdom, kindness, love and forgiveness. there were a bunch of different ways to do that. off the track, i could do that by serving others, putting their needs before mine, and being excited when God did a remarkable work in their lives. on the track, i glorified God by running with all my mind and body. i glorified Him when i gave every scrap of energy i had to the task at hand. because this was the gift God gave me to use, and by using it to the best of my ability and humbly redirecting the attention to Him, He would be glorified.” .. He takes pleasure in us doing what we were made for. and win, lose, or draw, to run the race well is to glorify Him.” (134)

→ when we love God, we do things for His glory, instead of our own. we are performing for an audience of one. this bring humility and changes what, how, and why we do things. it’s not for attention, but to love God. this shows God that we know who we are as His children.

THIRD // we become perfected in love by helping others feel love instead of fear.

→ when we feel loved by God and act in love for God, we are filled with more love that we can then give to others around us. we can be a voice and presence of love that can help cast out the fear in others. 

during the american civil war, nurse clara barton was known on the battlefield as “the angel of the battlefield.” she often went directly to the front lines, carrying bandages, food, and comfort to wounded soldiers. many accounts describe her moving from man to man, binding wounds and offering what little she had—even if it was just her presence.

she said, “what could I do but go with them, or work for them and my country?”

one soldier, years later, recalled clara giving him water and helping bind his leg. he said she sat beside him while he bled out on the field. In letters and memoirs, barton wrote, “i always tried... to be near enough so that the dying should not be alone.”

the quiet act of being near someone in their final moments was how clara helped others feel love in the face of fear.

→ in our own lives, we can be a steady source of love for others, ready to help calm their fears. when we feel the deep, deep love of Jesus, we will never run out of love to give to those around us in need. we can be assured in our own fears and trust that His love is stronger than any force in the universe. 

2 timothy 1:7 reads

“for God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

i’m so grateful for the deep love of Jesus, that changes how i see myself, God, and everyone around me. it is a power so strong that no fear can ever prevail if we chose to sit in the presence of the love Jesus has for us. i know He is real, and that His love can rescue us from the deepest depths.

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have a wonderful week, beautiful people!!

xoxo, kate

p.s. i have a new podcast epsiode out! listen to it here