The Perfect Love of God is the Answer

"I know that God loves me."

Do you? If that is the case then there should be no trace of fear in your life.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4: 18)

His perfect love casts out fear.

Fear is not something that we outgrow with our efforts, but something which His (not our) perfect love casts out.

Now, why are we afraid? Because we cannot rely on ourselves?

No, John gives us the answer:

"Because fear has torment"

Or rather: "punishment."

If we are afraid, it is that we fear punishment from God.

We should not fear any punishment, however, because Jesus took all the punishment for our sins and every other wrong thing that we have done:

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. " (Acts 13:38-39)

and then

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8: 1, NIV)

None at all.

And also:

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1: 7)

Jesus' blood cleanses us -- the key element in the definition of God's love for us:

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 10)

We have not yet begun to understand God's love for us. That's why Paul prayed:

"16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3: 16-19)