No Elevator to EverestSýnishorn

Perfect Love

As you begin the journey of Spirit-led self-awareness, you will notice that one of your largest hurdles is the voice of your inner critic. You can’t silence your inner critic with another voice of attack that says, “Inner critic, stop being so critical!” Instead, respond to that negative voice with compassion. Ask as the psalmist did, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (Psalm 43:5). Ask your inner critic what it would have you know about yourself. Over time, genuine feelings of empathy for yourself will emerge.

Another common question at the beginning of this journey is, “How do I cast my anxieties on the Lord?” I’ve found that casting my fears can be like playing with a yo-yo. A yo-yo is attached to your hand. It goes out and comes back. You assert control on the world around you and banish fear to the back of your mind. Until something happens that reminds you of your lack of control, and then the yo-yo snaps back into your palm and the fear comes roaring back to life. Yo-yo life is so common that we think it is the only life. Still, somewhere inside you, you know this kind of rhythm cannot be what God intended for His beloved children.

There is a better way. What if we viewed casting our cares upon the Lord like throwing a rock in a pond? When you throw a rock in a pond, you can see something you once held in your hand sinking beneath the water. You once had it, felt its surface and edges, and now you can’t see it or even quite remember what it felt like.

For freedom Christ set us free. We were not meant for yo-yo life.

First John 4:18 tells us, “perfect love casts out fear.” Jesus tells us, “Do not worry about your life…. Consider how the wild flowers grow They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these” (Luke 12:22, 27). Casting away our fears is part of the journey inward, as we’ll see in tomorrow’s devotion.

Lord, You see the struggle within me: the voice of my inner critic, the weight of my fears, the yo-yo of anxiety. You invite me to walk with You in kindness toward myself. Let Your perfect love quiet my fears and transform my heart. Amen.