Love Cancels Fear

June 14, 2026

Love Cancels Fear

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…” — 1 John 4:18 NIV

A couple years ago, during prayer, God showed me something that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since. He showed me three spirits that seem to operate throughout healthcare environments more than we probably realize: fear, pride, and mammon.

Fear whispers, “What if it’s worse than I think?”

Pride says, “I don’t need help.”

Mammon says, “This will cost too much.”

I recalled years ago when one of my employees from my sports medicine clinic experienced one of the most heartbreaking days of her life. I will never forget that day. Her father had been battling what everyone thought was a bad winter cold or flu. His wife urged him to go in. His children urged him to go in. But he kept putting it off. He thought he could tough it out. He didn’t want to miss work. He worried about the cost. Finally, after a couple of weeks, he agreed to go to the doctor. But first, he wanted to take a nap.…He never woke up.

I’ve never forgotten that day. I still remember the call. It was devastating watching someone be so stubborn over something so preventable. That day changed my friend’s life forever.

Then recently, a pediatric nurse practitioner shared another heartbreaking experience with me over a similar scenario. A mother delayed bringing her child in because of fear about cost, distrust from previous healthcare experiences, and uncertainty about what to do. She finally brought her child into the clinic, but it was too late. The child died during transport from the clinic to the hospital.

And just this week, I found myself practically arguing with a dear family friend. His symptoms concerned me. I told him he needed to get evaluated. His response?

“It’s just a cough.” [This is pride.]

“They’ll misdiagnose me. They will just give me a medicine I don’t need.” [This is fear.]

“I don’t have insurance. I can’t afford it. I need to keep working.” [This is mammon.]

His excuses aligned to those three evil spirits God showed me in that vision a couple years ago: Fear. Pride. Mammon.

Hearing my friend’s excuses, I could recognize and understand pride, and I could shoot that one down pretty quickly with love. I could also recognize and understand fear and could shoot that one down pretty quickly with love. Mammon was a harder one for me to recognize. But, I now recognized it.

As I spoke with my friend, I now realized it was what Jesus referenced in Matthew 6:24, when He said, “We cannot serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” You cannot serve God and money.

The influence of the spirit of mammon was what was holding my friend from taking action. He was battling the fear of spending money / making money versus trusting God.

I understood what was really driving my friend’s resistance.

And instead of arguing with him, I began speaking to the spirit of mammon behind the words.

I reminded him that God would provide. I reminded him that his life had value. I reminded him that getting help was not weakness. As love entered the conversation, the conversation switched to trusting God, and the defenses melted away. He went to get medical attention.

After that conversation, I heard a nudge in my spirit for God saying, “How many times have you done the same thing?”

Ouch.

How many times have I ignored symptoms? How many times have I pushed through exhaustion? How many times have I convinced myself that I’ll deal with it later? How many times have I carried stress longer than I should have?

Maybe you’ve done the same. The truth is that healthcare professionals can be some of the worst patients.

We know too much.

We work too much.

And sometimes we trust our own judgment more than we trust the wisdom of seeking help.

We tell ourselves we’re fine.

We suppress symptoms.

We keep working.

We carry burdens that were never meant to be carried alone. And sadly, we all know where that road can lead.

Burnout.

Depression.

Broken relationships.

Even suicide.

The same fear, pride, and mammon affecting our patients often affect us too.

As I’ve sat with all of this, God has shown me something else. The answer isn’t trying harder. The answer isn’t becoming tougher. The answer isn’t forcing ourselves to be more compassionate.

The answer is love. Not our love. His.

Because if perfect love depended on us, we would run out of it very quickly.

Some days you may walk into a patient encounter tired.

Some days frustrated.

Some days distracted.

Some days carrying your own concerns.

But Jesus never asked me to manufacture His love. He simply asked us to carry it. I have noticed, time and time again, when I surrender my striving and simply partner with Him, something changes.

 

I stop seeing a difficult patient or friend.

I start seeing a scared person.

 

I stop hearing disrespect.

I start hearing fear.

 

I stop focusing on their resistance.

I start seeing someone God desperately loves.

 

That changes everything. Compassion shows up. Patience shows up. Hope shows up. The atmosphere changes. Not because I became more capable, but because I became more surrendered.

As healthcare professionals, we have an incredible opportunity every single day. We can become patient advocates who stand in the gap and bring glimpses of Heaven into the exam room.

Love restores trust.

Love helps people feel seen.

Love interrupts fear.

Love changes atmospheres.

 

When we partner with Jesus, His love begins to flow through us. And where His love flows, fear begins to lose its grip.

Patients feel it.

Families feel it.

Even we feel it.

 

So maybe today, before we focus on the fears our patients are carrying, let’s ask God to show us the fears we’ve been carrying too.

 

Because perfect love is not something we manufacture.

Perfect love is Someone we carry who cancels fear.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…”

— 1 John 4:18 NIV