Loving God Makes Me Courageous

I was at a conference and the first session addressed The heart of a laborer.

A laborer is defined as a worker for the kingdom of God. And God raises up laborers by loving people. And as they know Him more, know His love more and learn to love Him more; it brings them out into the harvest field.

If you love Me, you will obey My commandments

I myself had read this before and thought that I must not love God. I was always disobeying. What I didn't know before is that this statement is an invitation. Its Jesus saying:

"You love Me, because I loved you first. Come let Me love you, so you will love Me. My love will do the transformation from the inside out. I'll clean the inside of the cup first, then the outside, your actions will also be transformed because your heart will be transformed."

As I know His heart for me, more and more, the more I want to go to others with His love. That still takes risks, because He asks and is asking that I go out to places in His harvest field that I've never been before or to places with very rocky soil. To international students, to my family, to the other side of the planet.

But loving God makes me courageous, because I know Him and His heart, and because I know, I trust Him for the steps He asks me to take.

Of course, I still chicken out sometimes. Thank God that so did people like Peter, Moses, and Jonah. But nore than that I want to rest on this:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go