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And Alan is correct in saying that the opposite of love is not fear but hate.
Love is wishing well for others, that they learn an grow with minimum suffering.
Hate is the desire to harm or to see harm done, or to stifle them, to hold them back. That is the opposite of love.
Fear though, is part of the survival instinct or survival drive. Fear exists for the management of it.
Personally, fear brings out my best. It prompts me to include prayer in what I do, and not to deal with the situation alone, but with God. But I admit there have been times when fear has caught me unprepared and has overwhelmed me and caused sluggishness of thought and not the best action. But even those times have been blessings because they have taught me lessons for the next time. I have frequently worked in dangerous situations, and still do occasionally as required. My stomach knots and twists prior to each time I have to enter a room and match myself against a threat. (no I am not a police officer) When those physical sensations occur then I know to breathe in from God into my soul, and out through my heart and continue forward, and let my mind be as clear as my heart will make it. Occasionally I have had cause to take an average person with me into such a place. They have usually turned white, feel sick and cannot think straight. Admittedly I could not do it without prayer - prayer being faith and communion with God. Part of my work has included teaching others how to manage fear.
Have you looked up at the clouds and seen different layers of cloud moving in different directions? That is because there are winds moving in different directions at different levels in the atmosphere. One seemingly strong wind at ground level blowing in one direction, and high up is another wind blowing in another direction that we cannot feel but it is stronger than the one that we feel at ground level. Fears are like that. We have different levels of fear, pushing us in different directions.
Someone may be faced with a threat or situation and their ground level fear of which they are most conscious tells them to turn and flee, or to do nothing, or walk on by and ignore. But high up near their own sun which is their soul, there is another fear less forceful upon them. It is the opposite fear; the fear that they may turn and flee, or do nothing, or walk on by. Afterwards, when the situation is over and the ground level fear is subsided, then they can feel their disappointment, and their higher fear. This is partly why witnesses to horrific events so often suffer ptsd more than do those who took part or those to whom it happened.
Can we see the difference between being fearful and being God fearing?
Before I enter a hostile situation, I am conscious of my ground level fear and its desire not to go forward. I am also conscious of that higher fear, the higher breeze up near my soul that would blow me forward toward the threat to do my work, and which, if I don't obey it, will punish me with regret afterwards. And so I go forward, against the ground level fear, and with the fear of God. For I know that the superficial safety to which the ground level fear would have me go toward has no reward for me, but the fear of God moves me forward towards a greater reward of conquering earth's little threats and providing me with a sense of duty accomplished and lessons learnt.
The more we put the situation and our self in God's hands, the more potent is our prayer, and the more effectual is God's power through us and from us. It is a matter of handing over our self to God while continuing to do our duty to our best. This makes us our strongest self.
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