Joy and Security | Part One
Key Thought | Joy grows best in the soil of security—security rooted in knowing and trusting God’s love.
Key Scripture | “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.” —1 John 4:16–19 (NLT)
This past weekend I spoke a message on joy. Over the last few years, I’ve often found myself speaking on joy during the Advent season, but this year was very different. What I sensed God speaking was unlike anything I had prepared before. During my study, I came across a line that stayed with me and continued to take shape throughout the weekend:
Security is the field that joy grows in.
This week, like last week, we will take a piece of Scripture and journey through it together.
I want to begin by asking a simple question, one I’ve asked many people through the years and one that has been asked of me by those who mentor me: How is your relationship with Jesus? So often, the response is, “I think we’re okay.”
I believe people are being honest, and I don’t want to minimize that or pick apart their words. But what I’ve come to realize is that there are many Christians who are not secure in their relationship with Jesus. When I say secure, I’m not only talking about salvation. I’m talking about a security that goes beyond eternity and into the everyday moments of our lives.
Not many months ago, someone who speaks into my life affirmed a realization I had finally come to: every fear and anxiety in my life came from either disobedience or a place where I didn’t trust Jesus. In simpler terms, all my fear and anxiety flowed out of insecurity, either in hearing His voice correctly or in trusting that He truly had me.
John begins this passage with one of the most beautiful lines: “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.”
To start this journey, take some time today and sit with those words.
Do you know how much God loves you, not just in your head, but in your heart? I’ve come to realize that while I knew the theology and the Scripture, it hadn’t fully penetrated the deeper places of my heart where insecurity lived. There were areas of my life where I simply didn’t trust Him. That was a hard reality to face, but facing it brought freedom.
If I can be a pastor, maybe your pastor, for a moment: none of us fully understands how much God loves us. His love is difficult to comprehend. But if we will slow down and truly sit in His love, He will begin to reveal its depth to us.
“And we have put our trust in his love.”
What a line. The journey of faith is trusting Him—with me, with those I love, with my heart, my soul, and my life.
My prayer as we look toward 2026 is that this would be a year where you become more secure in Jesus than ever before. That no matter the storms, the successes, the valleys, or the mountains ahead, we would learn what it means to be so saturated in His love that we truly trust Him.
Prayer | Jesus, help me not only know Your love intellectually, but experience it deeply in my heart. Reveal the places where I am still insecure or afraid, and teach me to trust You fully. Let Your perfect love drive out fear and become the foundation of my joy. Amen.
Reflection
Key Scripture | “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.” —1 John 4:16–19 (NLT)
This past weekend I spoke a message on joy. Over the last few years, I’ve often found myself speaking on joy during the Advent season, but this year was very different. What I sensed God speaking was unlike anything I had prepared before. During my study, I came across a line that stayed with me and continued to take shape throughout the weekend:
Security is the field that joy grows in.
This week, like last week, we will take a piece of Scripture and journey through it together.
I want to begin by asking a simple question, one I’ve asked many people through the years and one that has been asked of me by those who mentor me: How is your relationship with Jesus? So often, the response is, “I think we’re okay.”
I believe people are being honest, and I don’t want to minimize that or pick apart their words. But what I’ve come to realize is that there are many Christians who are not secure in their relationship with Jesus. When I say secure, I’m not only talking about salvation. I’m talking about a security that goes beyond eternity and into the everyday moments of our lives.
Not many months ago, someone who speaks into my life affirmed a realization I had finally come to: every fear and anxiety in my life came from either disobedience or a place where I didn’t trust Jesus. In simpler terms, all my fear and anxiety flowed out of insecurity, either in hearing His voice correctly or in trusting that He truly had me.
John begins this passage with one of the most beautiful lines: “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.”
To start this journey, take some time today and sit with those words.
Do you know how much God loves you, not just in your head, but in your heart? I’ve come to realize that while I knew the theology and the Scripture, it hadn’t fully penetrated the deeper places of my heart where insecurity lived. There were areas of my life where I simply didn’t trust Him. That was a hard reality to face, but facing it brought freedom.
If I can be a pastor, maybe your pastor, for a moment: none of us fully understands how much God loves us. His love is difficult to comprehend. But if we will slow down and truly sit in His love, He will begin to reveal its depth to us.
“And we have put our trust in his love.”
What a line. The journey of faith is trusting Him—with me, with those I love, with my heart, my soul, and my life.
My prayer as we look toward 2026 is that this would be a year where you become more secure in Jesus than ever before. That no matter the storms, the successes, the valleys, or the mountains ahead, we would learn what it means to be so saturated in His love that we truly trust Him.
Prayer | Jesus, help me not only know Your love intellectually, but experience it deeply in my heart. Reveal the places where I am still insecure or afraid, and teach me to trust You fully. Let Your perfect love drive out fear and become the foundation of my joy. Amen.
Reflection
- Do I truly believe that God loves me, or do I just know it as a concept?
- Where might fear or anxiety be revealing a place of insecurity or lack of trust?
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