You cannot fear that which you love...

I have been praying for three months about a specific street in my neighborhood that is very notorious. There are random shootings and pipe bombs that go off in the middle of the day. Lots of drugs and drug pushers. About half of the houses are boarded up. This is the type of street people tell others not to walk on let alone drive down. So, not only have I been praying for change to come to that street, but I have also been asking God how I can actively be a part of that change. Three months into praying for this street, God has given me no answer.
It didn't even occur to me until last Friday that I was still waiting for an answer. I was driving down the highway, on my way to Bible study and I heard Matthew Barnett on K-Love. Matthew Barnett is the co-founder of The Dream Center in LA. If you haven't heard about The Dream Center and the ministry they, you need to check them out (www.dreamcenter.org)! Barnett was doing an interview on K-Love and talking about some of the ministries that pour out of The Dream Center. He was sharing how one ministry began by a couple wanting to engage with certain blocks in a specific neighborhood. So, several couples each "adopted" two blocks within that neighborhood. They would serve those people in anyway they could: painting their house, cooking meals, re-roofing houses, etc. This allowed real relationships to form and then the couples could share their faith. Now, this ministry is serving hundreds of blocks and thousands of families. I really like the idea of this ministry. But Barnett sharing about this ministry wasn't what struck me.
What struck me was a statement Barnett made while sharing about first starting this ministry in LA. He stated how he would look up at the project housing and stare at Skid Row and be overcome with fear. He was scared to step into those places. One day as he was praying how to engage those places, God said to him, "Matt, you cannot fear that which you love."
...Until that moment, I was hoping God was going to bestow on me a grand idea on how to minister to the street in my neighborhood; a way that would be revolutionary (and maybe He will). Instead, He gave me a phrase. A phrase, however, that challenges my heart. If perfect love really casts out fear...then I must pray to have perfect love if I want any change of making a difference on this street.
Is there something or someone in your life that you fear? Is there something or someone that you are praying for to change? God's answer may not be to change whatever it is right away until you, yourself stop fearing and start loving. Because, you cannot fear that which you love.