Is the fear of loss or potential pain keeping you from a successful relationship? What about the fear of failure? Or the fear of repeating prior mistakes?
If that’s you, you’re not alone. Most of us experience those fears in the beginning of a relationship. Sometimes they are so consuming that we won’t even allow ourselves to get into a new relationship. Hey, if there’s no relationship, we can’t mess it up, right?
What if we told you that you don’t need to be ruled by fear? It’s true. As the apostle Paul said, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7, NLT). How do we get rid of that spirit of fear and timidity? By letting the Holy Spirit (who is the opposite of the spirit of fear) crowd it out of our lives.
After power and guidance, the third great blessing of the Holy Spirit is protection. As we’re walking in step with Him and He is directing us, we can know that He is taking care us. It’s not that we’ll never suffer hurt again. But He has a way of leading Christ’s followers past the worst pitfalls. And even if we do fall, He is there to pick us up again. It’s not as devastating as it might have been without Him leading us in our lives.
Four times Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Counselor” (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). That translates the word Paraclete, which referred to someone who “came alongside” someone else to bring comfort, encouragement, and refreshing. This is what the Holy Spirit is to us. He is the person of the Trinity who comes alongside us and holds us up through the big and small challenges of life.
With Him by your side, there is no reason to fear what the search for a mate will bring. You can relax and rest in Him.
